One Year
by melloschocolatecake
Summary: A scroll Obito created sent half of the Akatsuki into an unfamiliar world. One that is filled to the brim with secrets and lies behind every shadow, good thing they know how to walk in the dark... and how to manipulate it to their benefit. FMAB timeline. DISCONTINUED. UP FOR ADOPTION!
1. A New World

**Welcome to my second fic and first crossover fic! I have been prepping this fanfiction for a few months now and I am finally posting it! If you are a returning reader from my other fic, welcome back! If you are a new reader and wondering what the hell I'm talking about… I have another fic… feel free to read it, up to you.**

 **I'm gonna apologize ahead of time for how wonky the 3rd person may be in this first chapter, I didn't decide on an actual character to focus on quite yet so things juggle around. Things hopefully get much better by the next chapter, I'm still learning how to write in 3rd person.**

 **There will be a series of explanations at the bottom AN, you don't have to read it but it may answer some questions that come to your minds.**

 **This story follows the FMAB/manga storyline and timeline.**

 **Warning: Foul language, violence, short jokes (common it's FMA, how could I not?), OOCness due to creative liberties.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Naruto, one belongs to a mastermind of storytelling and the other belongs to someone who needs to stop using talk-no-jutsu.**

* * *

The mangekyou sharingan is powerful… but even with that power, there are flaws. If someone does not have a sibling or close relative that also has the mangekyou, overuse will lead to eventual blindness. Obito fears this happening, as the majority of his techniques revolve around his eye while Kakashi is able to use his other eye, unaware of the risk ahead. This lead to Obito to plan for the worst. Incase he loses his eyes to blindness, he needs to be able to recreate at least kamui, without the sharingan.

The masked Uchiha spent two years while traveling with Zetsu working on recreating kamui by using a scroll. He tested the jutsu out on a medium size bird and the scroll had… rather interesting effects. Not only did it send the bird into a different dimension -which is the jutsu's job half the time- but it also kept track on whether or not the bird was alive. But there was a catch: the scroll was only usable once a year. The following year Obito was able to successfully bring the tiny creature back into its home world. He couldn't help but notice how the bird was carrying a small rock that had odd markings on it, ones that did not seem natural and was almost jutsu like.

Obito not only needed to find a way to be able to use the jutsu as often as he wanted, but now he was curious about this world the bird was sent to. He tried using kamui to travel to this world, but it seems that only the scroll could send the user. So that is why he is explaining his plans to Pein and Konan… minus the risk of blindness, of course, they didn't need to know that.

"You wish to send some Akatsuki members to this world for a year and find out its secrets?" Pein blankly stared at the rock. Through the rinnegan eyes, Nagato was at a lost for how those marks could appear on the stone without leaving even a trace of chakra.

Obito nods, "I believe whatever created those marks can be used with chakra to create new techniques. I don't care who is sent nor do I care if they see this as a mission, I want it done." Since he was playing the role of Uchiha Madara, neither of the pair had any right to argue with his demands. The Kyuubi no Jinchuuriki was still on his travels with Jiraiya and Orochimaru will not need a new vessel for at little over another year. Having a few members gone for that long will be beneficial in keeping the nations on their toes.

Konan was skeptical about the whole thing, 'All for a rock… if something happens to the members, we won't have time replacing them… but I am curious myself…'

Pein and Konan exchange glances, before Konan spoke for the two of them, "We will allow you to use the jutsu on any Akatsuki members that are currently in the lounge area. I believe Sasori and Deidara just returned from their mission. I hope you know what you are doing… Madara." She had to hold back her glare, not liking this plan.

Obito nods before breaking into his Tobi voice, "Righty-o leader-sama! Ooooo Deidara-senpai!" Running out to the lounge area, audible smacking sound of him running into a wall echoed into the stone cold office.

Pein paused for a moment before handing Konan a pouch filled with sealing scrolls containing weapons, medical supplies and extra Akatsuki clothes -including the hats- because shinobi frequently need to replace their clothes, "Konan."

"I understand… be careful, Nagato." She gives the body that was once called Yahiko a pained smile before slowly following after Tobi, "I'll see you in a year."

In a distant room, far away from the ears of others, Nagato bowed his head, "Please return safely Konan… There's no point in world peace if I lose you too… If there is a god out there… please, I lost Yahiko… I can't lose her too… keep her safe."

 _In the lounge area_

Deidara stretched his sore arms with a pained groan. Him and Sasori finished their mission early, and his lovely danna oh-so GENEROUSLY gave the blond time to collect more clay and seal them in scrolls. Note the sarcasm. Oh well, he could make more art later and work on a new stage of explosions that'll help him defeat his Jinchuuriki.

"Had a fun time, Deidara-chan?" Hidan gave the blond a mocking smirk, wiggling his eyebrows in the process, didn't take a genius to hear the perverted undertone.

"Shut up Hidan, I was making clay for my art, un!" The blond crossed his arms as his partner snorted. Sasori was still in Hiruko… then again, he never leaves that puppet unless he is either alone or if Deidara is the only one around.

"Your idea of art are ridiculous as always, art needs to be eternal, otherwise it's just a bunch of noise." Of course this causes Deidara to leap to his art's defence.

"I respect your views of art Sasori-no-Danna, but if it's eternal then everyone can copy it and lose its creativity, un." Deidara slammed his hands on his hips, like a mother scolding their child about doing something wrong, "I heard there's a 'puppet master' in Suna that's stealing your routine."

Kakuzu quickly became done with the noise after losing count of his latest bounty, but also didn't want to kill the artist. Risking Sasori taking one of his hearts was a price he did not want to pay, "Too loud." He retreats from the room to continue counting his money elsewhere.

Hidan hollars after Kakuzu, "Invest in earplugs you old bastard!" The violent slam of a door closing made the Jashinist smirk in victory with a click of his tongue, "So sensitive, must be from old age."

Itachi looks up from his dango with a mix of mild interest and extreme bordom, but then turns to his partner, "Kisame, could you get me more tea please?" The Uchiha politely handed his cup to the swordsman, who took it with a grin.

"Why not. My leg was falling asleep anyway." Kisame stood up while taking the cup, and semi-limped to the kitchen to minimize the tingling feeling shooting up his leg, "Itachi-san, remind me to never sit for that long again."

Itachi returns to his dango, "Hn."

Sadly everyone's enjoyment, or in Sasori's case annoyance, was turned for the worst when a voice rang from the hallway.

"Ooooo Deidara-senpai!" The blond and the Jashinist winced at the obnoxious sound of Tobi bounding into the room like a fawn in spring. It's as disturbing as it sounds and many of the Akatsuki wished they could get amnesia just to forget what they saw. Good thing for Itachi that he had his sharingan deactivated.

"Sasori-no-Danna… if you have any mercy, you will poison me right now, un." Deidara slowly backed away as his personal space was being invaded by a blob of orange and black.

"Sorry, I left my fast acting ones in my other puppet." In reality, Sasori wasn't sorry in the slightest. But he was annoyed by Tobi, so he had minor pity for his young partner as he had to deal with the taller man's excessive clinging. To this day Sasori still could not figure out why Tobi insists on pestering Deidara, and why the kid would not die from his partner's explosives. There was always something off about the no-talented ward of Zetsu's… but what exactly was the question at hand.

Deidara sighed in aggravation knowing that he'll have to endure whatever scheme is plotting through Tobi's mind now… if the idiot even had a mind, "Great, thanks Danna, un. Tobi, fu-"

"Guess what I found!" Before Deidara could tell Tobi to kindly fuck off, he pulled out a scroll seemingly out of nowhere. What made this even worse was that it sounded more like a demand then a request, "It's this really cool jutsu! I'm gonna show you how it works!"

"This I gotta fucking see." Hidan leans forward in interest, resting against his scythe. He hasn't had a mission all week and has been going stir crazy not being able to give Jashin a proper sacrifice.

Itachi, on the other hand, took one look at the scroll, saw the kanji for teleportation and quickly retrieve his scroll that contained both his medicine and shuriken by his chair. Why should he trust something Madara had?

"Let's see… I place my hand here…. And- Ah! Konan-san!" Just as everyone registered that the second-in-command was in the room, the jutsu activated. Itachi, Hidan, Konan, Deidara and Sasori were sucked into a vortex and vanished from this world, not a trace of their chakra remained.

Kisame entered the room, looked around, then sighed with a shake of his head, "Couldn't you have waited until AFTER I gave Itachi-san his tea before using a teleportation jutsu?" No response, has stopped working, please reboot, "I'll go report to Leader then… Itachi and I were suppose to go on a mission tonight, thanks kid."

Once Kisame was out of sight, Obito growled into his throat, "That damn woman…"

 _With the other Akatsuki_

"I'M GOING TO KILL THAT FUCKER!" Hidan began spewing curses to the sky as everyone was recovering from either a splitting headache, or a sore butt from landing… Hidan had both.

"Save some of Tobi for me, Hidan." Sasori was fine, he landed as gracefully has a hundred-plus pound puppet could and proceed to loom over his semi-conscious partner to make sure the brat wasn't dead, "At least the brat is breathing…"

Itachi gingerly rubbed his lower back as he stood and looked around his surroundings, "Where are we?"

"A different world that is void of chakra." Everyone paused to look at the blue-haired woman standing poised despite also having a sore rear, "Pein wanted to test the jutsu on the scroll in order to gather information of this world. We decided that I would go with to make sure everyone stayed together."

"Then why the fuck did that bastard Tobi used the fucking jutsu?!" Hidan was getting red in the face from screaming so much, Konan chose to ignore the tone as Deidara answered for her.

"Because if the idiot uses it then we wouldn't be suspicious… Ugh…" Deidara gripped his head, it was like someone took a mallet to his skull. The moment he stood, the teen proceed to collapse on the ground from the world spinning, "This is why I prefer flying, un…"

Itachi counts heads then sighed, "The only ones here that are actual partners are Deidara and Sasori." Hidan was mildly concerned that Deidara made no reaction to the Uchiha saying his name, "We have them, an Uchiha, an immortal, and a woman who can turn into paper… how long will this jutsu last?"

Konan looked at Itachi, "One year."

Hidan throws his arms in the air, "Great! How the fuck am I supposed to sacrifice to Jashin-sama now-"

"Who are you five?!" The Akatsuki members -minus Deidara- looked over to see three men in odd blue clothing. Two of the three were pointing strang, black, metallic objects they assumed were some form of projectile weaponry. Oddly enough, they could understand what the men were saying, but the accents were a little off.

"Can I sacrifice these fuckers?" Hidan steadies his scythe towards the men, which caused them to tense up and put their fingers on the triggers, "Jashin-sama would love to have some more blood."

"We can still use chakra it seems… so please get rid of them." Konan absentmindedly ignored the situation by turning her hand into paper, pleased that her jutsu still worked. At the same time, the three men stood there in shock.

"Alchemists?"

Hidan made quick work of gathering blood from one of the soldiers, beginning the ritual, "Prepare to face the ultimate pain!" Stabbing himself, laughing sadistically.

"Sorry, orders are orders." Itachi merely snapped the neck of another while Sasori stabbed the last one with Hiruko's tail.

"Well… we know Hidan is immortal still." Itachi observes Hidan stabbing his heart in sweet, blissful… agony? The Uchiha never bothered to ask how much of a masochist Hidan was, "And we have chakra. I can already sense it replenishing inside Deidara." It was hard not to notice when he is the only one of the group that had used a large amount of chakra at some point in the last 24 hours.

"What are we going to do with the bodies?" Sasori had enough of Deidara's headache and gave the teen a tonic to help with the pain, "Deidara, drink this so you don't slow us down."

"The bodies need to be disposed off and leave no trace of them." Konan began rummaging through the mens' things, noting the language on their IDs were different and so was the money. Oh well, they were dead, so the Akatsuki could use the foreign funds, "We will need to learn this world's currency and laws. I think they were military…"

"Can I eat them?" Hidan jolted on his spot as a short, bald man waddled over smiling.

"What the fuck? This guy is a human Zetsu?" Hidan backs away from the man in fear, obviously freaked out by the manchild.

Konan shot Hidan a warning glance then talks to the man, "You… may? But in return you will not tell anyone what you saw. Fair enough?" She stared down at the man, who just sucked on his pointer finger like a child and nodded. The five quickly left as the man began eating the bodies with a messy glee.

"Thank you for the meal! I won't tell anyone… anyone but Lust." Of course, the man was too preoccupied with his meal to notice a woman approaching him, humming in thought.

"No need Gluttony… I saw everything… father will want to hear about them soon."

 _A few hours later_

"Hey blondie, you better now?" Hidan nudges Deidara playfully, though it was to distract himself from seeing something humanish want to eat bodies. Who knew Zetsu had a relative in this world?

"Yeah… I'll be okay, un." Deidara moves around Hiruko to provide himself some distance from Hidan, "I hope the nearby town has an inn."

"I have to agree with Deidara, we need information of this land. Preferably an 'alchemist' that those men had spoken about." Deidara scoffed at Itachi's words, but chose to not make a comment. He hates the Uchiha, but being tired mixed with the fact that Itachi was right, it was better to save oxygen.

The five spot a town just bustling with life nearby a small stand. The town was new to the shinobi, everything was covered with artificial mixture of stone and the only building of note was a large marble one that may contain valuable information.

As they got closer to the group, they noticed a tall suit of armor pointing at something. They weren't surprised at the armor… considering one of their own was a human puppet, but it didn't stop their curiosity. Hidan decides to shove people out of the way to see who the armor was pointing at, needless to say, the Jashin was not impressed.

"Who the fuck is this midget?"

* * *

 **First thing I want to mention is that I chose not to have all of the Akatsuki because I am not use to writing in 3rd person entirely. 5 is more than what I am use to, but just enough to give me a challenge without making me want to throw my brain out the window. I usually only write 3rd person with about 3 characters at once.**

 **The Akatsuki DO have chakra, and it will replenish like normal through food and resting. I kept them having chakra because it does not make sense why they would lose it when a jutsu sends them there in the first place… plus you can have way more fun when 5 overpowered shinobi realize that they are the only people not bound by the laws of matter.**

 **I'm gonna say this up front in that none of the Naruto characters will fall in love with anyone, both amongst themselves and the FMAB characters. Everything will be strictly platonic but I will have some flirting, but that's about it. This does not mean that I will be letting canon romances in FMAB slip away, those will still happen but will most likely develop off screen, this fic is meant to focus on the Akatsuki. If you want more on the FMAB characters then you might as well watch the anime or read a non-crossover fic.**

 **The reason why they will be stuck for one year is because that is how long the actual timeline for the main story is for FMAB/the manga. So they will be there until the end of the series. I will also not be showing the other half of the Akatsuki, you guys can just imagine what's happening.**

 **That should about cover the majority of questions that may come up, and hopefully the next chapter will answer some more questions. But if you get any, feel free to ask. For all of the new readers, please note that I respond to all reviews I get (if you send multiple ones I just respond to them all at once).**

 **My upload schedule will be posted on the second chapter in the AN.**

 **Thank you so much for reading this. Reviews are loved and I will see you guys in the next chapter!**

 **Bye!**


	2. Leore Conflict

**Second chapter away! This covers the Leore episode of the anime. To make my life easier I used dialogue from the anime when it's between FMAB characters only, I change up dialogue when the Akatsuki members step into the story.**

 **Regarding upload schedule: Because I am prioritizing my other fanfiction first, this will only be updated every other week until I am finished. Once I am done with my other story then this will have weekly updates. I have the first 5 chapters prewritten already and I want to make sure I do not run out.**

 **Warning: Language, violence, guns, Ed being upset about his height, religious tension (seriously, this anime has a lot of that), OOCness.**

 **Disclaimer: I still do not own FMAB or Naruto.**

 **Small edit: Forgot a bit of info in the authors note.**

* * *

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A MICROSCOPIC FLEA THAT YOU NEED A MAGNIFYING GLASS TO SEE, YOU BASTARD?!" Edward Elric hissed menacingly at the man with white hair as his brother held him back. He was enjoying the spotlight, only for someone to call him short. The crowd quickly left to avoid being caught in a fight with an alchemist and a man with a… scythe?

Hidan places his hand on his hip with a smirk, "I called you a midget, wanna fight you heathen? I'm sure Jashin-sama would love to have you- merf!" He was promptly shut up by Konan slapping an explosive tag over his lips. He wisely chose to shut up, a lack of Kakuzu means any repairs would not be pretty.

"Not another word, Hidan." The blue haired woman looks at the brothers blankly, her orange eyes made the two nervous, "Forgive my comerad's rudeness, he is always like that. We do not know where we are and are all on edge. What land are we on?"

Ed pauses as he looked at the woman, 'Blue hair? Must be dyed or she used alchemy to change it.' He didn't like the look of this group, he came to this town to investigate the religion that sprang up, now he may be dealing with a… based on their outfit, a cult.

His brother, Alphonse, was more than happy to answer Konan's question, "You're in Amestris in the town of Leore, my big brother and I are here to investigate the new religion that sprang up here!" If he could, the boy would be smiling cheerfully. In reality, they were here for the rumors on Cornello bringing back the dead, but it seems the Akatsuki were more focused on… other aspects of the news.

"Amesturisu?" The foreign word felt odd on Konan's tongue, she knew that whatever world Madara had sent them would be strange, but this took it to a whole new level, "Reore…? You're investigating a religion? Any particular reason why?"

Ed crossed his arms and turned his nose to the side rudely, "Military business, I'm a state alchemist, see?" He flashes his silver pocket watch to the woman, expecting her to be impressed. It killed his ego slightly when all she did was turn her attention to a noise from behind her, 'What's with this group, they're not right…'

Deidara was snickering with the muffled Hidan, "Big brother… pffff…. That's funny." Hidan was nodding vigorously with his own level of amusement, "Here, let's get that off, un." Like a bandaid, the blond mercilessly ripped off the tag.

"OW! Warn me next time you son of a bitch!" Hidan rubbed his reddened mouth, "To think the armored kid was the little brother, this world is full of surprises." Oddly he openly shouted the little brother bit, but mumbled the second half.

Hoping to keep his big brother calm, Al perks up at what Hidan said, "Another world? What do you mean? Who are you people?" He looks at all of the members of the Akatsuki, it was like a poker game had started, even the the ones that were laughing had quieted down. Something about them made the Elric brothers tense, maybe it was the scythe? Or the hunched looking man standing next to the teenage blond.

Konan stares at the boys with her orange eyes, "We are a mercenary group called the-"

"Ah! Father Cornello!"

The group looks over to the church as a crowd of people cheered for an unattractive bald man standing before a podium. Cornello takes a flower, cupping it in his hands and transmuted it into a dazzling crystal flower that sent everyone wild as he called it a miracle of some God named Leto.

Konan looks at Itachi as she noticed his sharingan spinning in his eyes, "Crystal user? I didn't sense any chakra." Now the Akatsuki were watching the Uchiha's usually passive expression twist into that of confusion.

"There was no hand signs or chakra… it was as if he changed the very matter in that flower to crystalize it and expand in size…" It reminded him of Deidara's jutsu and how the teen can take a small sculpture and make it ten times the size of a human… but more weird… and that said a lot. Deidara chews the stuff with his hands after all.

As the crowd broke up and Cornello returned to the church, Konan looked over to Itachi and Sasori, "Discreetly gather as much information on this land's laws, form of government and economy, use genjutsu if needed. Our story will be that we are not from this country and are travelers, if you learn of a land that is similar to the Five Great Nations we will use that as our homeland while residing here." The four men nod in agreement, as not having a background to go by would complicate things. Sasori poofed out of Hiruko, much to the dismay of several witnesses, and the two slunk into shadows to follow their commander's mission.

Entering the church, the three shinobi watch Ed plop onto a bench and pull out a book.

"Water 35 liters, carbon 20 kilograms, ammonia 4 liters, lime 1.5 kilograms…" None of these words made any sense to the three, let alone the simple girl that Ed was reading these to, "These are the ingredients to the structure of the average adult, yet there has never been any reported cases of a successful human transmutation… and you're telling me something modern science can't do that you can do with prayer?"

This continued for a few more minutes as the clash between faith and science clashed with each other like a tennis match. The longer it went on the more disgusted the Akatsuki were feeling, Deidara and Konan were disturbed by how blindly loyal this woman was to such a new religion. Hidan… well, he's a Jashinist and knows full well how his god operated.

Konan examined the conversation closely, "Why would a god bring back someone from the dead?" The non-shinobi trio jolted, not noticing the Akatsuki, "They took that person in the first place… You cannot bring back what you lost."

Rose clenched her fist, "You're wrong! Father Cornello says that with faith, Lord Leto will return my beloved back to me!" Oh boy, the girl was delusional.

Hidan rolled his eyes and held up his pendant, "You see this pendant, woman? This is the mark of Jashin, my God, or Kami in my country. This is the only deity that has proven to truly grant what he promises to his followers, but he's greedy and the price for his blessings is high. Lucky me, I'm more than happy to pay it." Returning his beloved necklace to his chest, he ignores Deidara's bewildered expression. When talking about his Jashin-sama to heathens outside of battle, there was no need to swear.

Ed hopped to his feet and bows almost mockingly to Rose, "In any case, do you think your Father Cornello could even save an arrogant scientist like me? I have traveled far and wide in hopes of seeing such miracles that were displayed today."

The girl clapped her hands together with shiny eyes, "Of course! If anyone can lead you to the light, it's him!" She looks to the Akatsuki, "Would you wish to meet him too?"

Deidara and Konan nodded out of curiosity, but Hidan scratched his head, "Nah, I gotta take a piss. I'll catch up with you fuckers later." He nonchalantly waves at his comrades to look for the toilets, temporarily stunning the girl with his sudden curses.

Being lead by a member of the church, Rose looks up to Konan in interest, "What did your friend with the white hair meant by price? And what did it give him?" She was loyal to Letoism, but curiosity is in human's nature.

Konan shook her head patiently, "It's best you never learn. Hidan is… a special case in our group and it is often best not to get him talking about his religion for long." When Rose looked to Deidara for an explanation, the blond occupied himself with his clay to also avoid the conversation.

Upon entering the dark, candle lit room, the two Akatsuki tense up when sensing the kill intent in the room. No one noticed Deidara's hands eating clay, or Konan pulling out a kunai.

That is, when Ed was blocked by two men holding staves, and the church member point another one of those metal objects at them.

"Rose, these heathens are here to ensnare and discredit the father. They're evil, this is God's will to kill the nonbelievers and clean this world of their impurity."

"What a lovely God you have then, un." Deidara sarcastically mumbled through his teeth as he eyed the metal object in interest. Honestly, this place was shady just from looking at Cornello. In his mind this place should be blown sky high, but Konan hasn't given the orders and his own life wasn't in danger yet, hell everyone but his comrades could die and he wouldn't give a damn.

Ed proceed to flip the other members over his shoulder while Al punched the other one in the face. The metal object landing by Rose's feet as Cornello entered the room.

"Ah, the Fullmetal Alchemist! Welcome to the church of Leto!" Seems like the only one that didn't smell the bullshit greeting was Rose, "And who are your two other companions? I was not informed of them."

On instinct, Konan stepped forward, as if shielding Ed with her form, "We are the Akatsuki. Our ranks are spread throughout the city, but at the moment it is just me and our explosion specialist." Deidara puts his hands on his hips at the title, much to the shock of everyone else trying to picture the blond using explosives.

"Akatsuki…? Never heard of your group. No matter! Well Fullmetal, have you come to learn the way of Leto?" Cornello smiled cheerily at the brothers, only to tense up when Ed opened his mouth. Konan did not appreciate being brushed off.

"Not really, what I'm wondering is how you're able to trick these people using second-rate alchemy?" Rose looks to Ed in confusion.

She wasn't the only one that was lost, Konan's attention was now focused on Ed. So the techniques are not like jutsu's after all if they could be faked, of course shinobi place traps everywhere but their jutsu was revolved around their chakra. Suddenly this world lost a large amount of value if she didn't see some of this "alchemy" soon.

"My dear boy, it's not alchemy! It is a blessing from the sun god Leto! Could mere alchemy create something out of nothing? ...Ah, it seems we have someone also… blessed by our lord…" Cornello says that through gritted teeth when he sees Deidara produce a clay bird almost out of nowhere. In reality, he just missed the part where the teen opened his palm mouth.

"I'm not a part of your religion old man, I'm making my art so ignore me, un." Deidara huffed and moved behind Al so people would stop staring at him. As much as he loved showing off his art, he didn't want it linked with this crusty old geezer. If he's going to be linked with an old geezer he would go out for drinks with Kakuzu.

Bringing things back to subject, Ed continues, "Him aside… I didn't get it at first. How can you perform transmutations that ignore the law of equivalent exchange?" He ignores the priest's exclaiming that he's not using alchemy, "Then it hit me. If you obtained a certain object to amplify your alchemy, one that said to make the impossible possible… that would explain everything."

Ed opens his eyes to glare at Cornello, "You have a philosopher stone."

'So… this philosopher stone is the equivalent to a bijuu in our world… we'll need to get more information and if it can be used… we'll have to get our hands on one of those.' Konan looks to Deidara, who seemed to have thought the same thing as he nodded. While the two Akatsuki had a mental conversation, something moving caught their attention.

"Rose dear, that gun there beside you… pick it up." Hesitant but obedient, Rose picked up the object -now known as a gun-, "Now child, I want you to shoot the fullmetal alchemist."

Rose pales, "Father… no I can't do that!" She feared the punishments for killing, but also the fact that taking someones life was… inhumane!

"I am the sun God's chosen emissary, my word is the word of Leto himself. Shoot him Rose, it's God's will, there will be no punishment for this action." Cornello mercilessly stared down the poor girl as she shakily pointed the gun towards the brothers, coaxing the girl by bringing up her dead fiance.

The gun was pointed at Al, who panicked, "It's not me!"

Rose looks to her left to see a pissed off Ed flinging his arms and legs in every direction in a chibi rage, "Damnit, I'm the fullmetal alchemist! It's not him!" Which left Cornello in shock and the gun now being pointed at him, "You know he's lying to you, Rose."

"No he's not! I've seen his miracles, I have faith!"

"Then shoot."

Just as he said that sentence, a certain Jashinist entered the room, "Man, this place is a fucking maze, good thing that bitch is fucking loud. What did I mis- FUCK YOU BLONDIE!" Deidara had stuck his foot out to trip Hidan, the sudden yell scared Rose into pulling the trigger twice. One bullet taking off Al's head and the other flying right into Hidan's head.

Rose dropped the gun screaming as blood pooled from Hidan's skull, and was even more traumatized when it was revealed that Al was hollow. Konan and Deidara were only standing over Hidan's body, patiently blinking at it with no traces of emotions.

"You're friend was shot!" Ed stared at Hidan in horror, "Why are either of you panicking?!"

Deidara examined his black nails and kicks Hidan's gut, "You can stop the charades, Hidan." Everyone, even Cornello, felt as though their hearts would stop when Hidan sprang to his feet.

"Ow! That fucking hurts! Holy shit, how can a tiny metal object cause that much pain?! I can't get it out of my skull!" Hidan tried digging his finger into his skull, trying to pull out the bullet. Deidara had to grab Rose's arm so she wouldn't crack her skull from fainting.

"We'll have Sasori remove it." Konan stares up at Cornello in disgust. While it is true sheand Nagato pretend to be God and Angel for the people of Amegakure, they didn't make the civilians kill those they wanted dead. They either had their actual shinobi kill, or Konan would take care of the problem herself. This priest was a coward at most.

"How… how are you alive?" Ed slowly walked over to Hidan, absolutely baffled.

Hidan smirked down at Ed, "Well midget, my god Jashin-sama gave me immortality! I cannot be killed, all I have to do is provide him with sacrifices! I walk a path of blood for the great Jashin-sama, sending chaos in my way!" Throwing his head back in insane laughter, Deidara was cleaning his ear in boredom with his free hand, waiting for something fun to happen.

Spewing out nonsense about Al and Hidan being unholy abominations, Cornello pulled down a lever which released his chimeras.

"Fascinating…" Deidara looked at the lion face, bird feet and lizard tail in awe, this was giving him new ideas for his sculptures.

"Chimeras huh? Guess I'll need a weapon." Without using a transmutation circle, Ed created a staff. While Cornello was shocked, the Akatsuki were not impressed in the slighest.

Konan and Hidan were… understandably still pissed. Konan because of the phony religion, and Hidan… well he still has a bullet in his head.

While Ed was fighting the hybrid, Hidan leans to Konan, "Distract the fucker. I want to sacrifice him."

Konan paused in thought, slowly grasping the potential consequences of killing him too early, "Prepare the ritual, but do not kill him until I give you a signal."

At this point, Ed had already taken off his coat, revealing his steel arm. Cornello was overwhelmingly giddy, "You broke the number one taboo of alchemy! Human transmutation! You see Rose? This is what happens when people become too cocky in themselves!"

"You're one to talk big despite claiming your words are that of a god." Everyone, even the chimera, paused to look at Konan. The woman was hovering in the air, suspended by two large, graceful paper wings as other sheets of origami size paper floated around her. Like an angel sent to judge humanity only to be left unimpressed, she glared down at the priest.

Everyone was shocked, Rose was the one to exclaim, "A… An angel?!" While the Elric brothers were petrified. They didn't hear Konan use alchemy, and this defied all the laws of physics, yet the woman was both missing her legs and now had paper wings.

"Face the wrath of God." Konan had the papers fold into shuriken as they wildly aimed at Cornello. The priest responded by transmuting a machine gun, firing wildly at everyone. He only stopped when he felt something slice his arm briefly before resuming his parade of bloodlust.

Everyone made their escape, but Hidan and Deidara stopped and looked at each other with evil grins.

"You got the blood, Deidara?"

Waving the kunai in his hand, "You know it Hidan, let's head outside where no one will see, un." The two exited the backdoor to wait so they don't lose the kunai in all of the chaos.

 _A few moments later_

Itachi and Sasori met them at the train station not long after Ed and Al gave Rose their speech on moving forward after exposing Cornello. Hidan was buying the group their tickets using the money they stole from the soldiers. Konan was pleased to see that Itachi and Sasori had collected their fair share of money as well, most likely while others were under jutsu.

Konan looked at the two, "Report your findings to me when we reach this city known as 'Central'. We will be following these children until otherwise noted." The two nodded as the brothers gawked at the group.

"Wait… how old are all of you?" Ed limply points at everyone. They all looked to be around 16 or so, the redhead even younger.

"17 going to be 18 this summer, un."

"19."

"20 bitches!"

"32." Okay, that surprised the brothers. They did not expect Sasori to be one of the oldest of the group. Then again, Ed is the older brother, so how could they complain?

"I am 33, you do realize it is rude to ask a woman her age, correct?" If Ed had a drink, he'd be spraying it out. She was the oldest?! How do they all look so young?!

Al pats Ed's shoulder, "Brother… we need to board the train."

Ed snapped out his thoughts to nod, "Right... I'm guessing you guys are coming with?" None of the Akatsuki answered him as they wordlessly entered the train… almost.

"When can I fucking sacrifice that Cornello fucker?"

Konan eyed the Jashinist, "After Sasori removes the metal object from your head, Hidan."

"Hm… I should see if I can have the Sandaime Kazekage mimic these 'guns'..." And now Sasori was thinking about ways of inventing puppets with these projectiles.

This is going to be a wild ride for the Elric brothers.

In their seats, Konan sat across from the Elric brothers alone. The rest sat in seats behind them, quietly listening to the conversation after Hidan had the bullet removed and his head bandaged to avoid panic from nearby s.

Konan had just explained the situation to the brothers, believing that by being honest with the boys, they would be more inclined to help them.

Of course, she left out the bits like their pasts, their actual goals and the fact everyone is an S-ranked criminal. Ed is under the impression that the Akatsuki is a mercenary group that joined together due to the harshness of war that tore them from their homes… she wasn't lying, just leaving out some details.

"I don't really believe this whole 'other world' you claim to be from, but if what you say is true, how long are you stuck here?" Ed crosses his arms, as if challenging the woman across from him. Sadly for the shorty, Konan is thick skinned.

"We will be here for one year. I was ordered by our leader to command the men here and assist them in finding information on the techniques that reside in this land." She was mostly intrigued by the fact that these boys could manipulate their very surrounding with no concern for energy or chakra. If the Akatsuki could get their hands on it, nothing could get in their way.

Not to mention, if the day comes when Madara needs to be taken down… Konan would be able to do it without wasting her chakra.

Edward smirked, "So… I'm guessing you want to learn alchemy huh?" When Konan nodded, he extended his normal hand to her, "Alchemy revolves around equivalent exchange, If you want information on alchemy, in return I want to know about these 'jutsu' that you use."

Konan stared at his hand blankly. She can see the fair trade, but at the same time there was a flaw in it, "There is no chakra in this world, you would be unable to use jutsu even if you tried." Despite this reassurance, Al piped up in this conversation.

"Even if that is the case, it's still information for information. We just won't train you in alchemy, you'll have to figure it out yourself so that way it's fair. Right big brother?" Al looked down at his older brother, who nodded in confirmation at the statement. Even if there was no chakra, they could still use it as possible information to help them get their bodies back.

What felt like an eternity was in reality, only a few minutes as Konan took the boy's hand, "Very well, we will accept these terms. We will also need to speak with whoever is incharge of your country to make sure that no one attempts to kill us while being here." She chose at this moment to ignore Hidan's snort, "We will not ask about what happened to your bodies, interfere with your studies and in return you will not pry into our pasts. Some of us…" Konan dips her head ever so slightly as she stared at her Akatsuki ring.

"I understand, pasts can be a touchy subject so don't worry about it." Ed reaches over and pats the woman on the knee, mindful of the fact that there is a blond teenager sticking his head into the isle and watching him like a hawk, "Are they always this protective?"

Konan looked around the train seats to see Deidara pull his head back to straighten himself, "It's because there would be serious consequences if something happened to their second-in-command…"

She also had another though, but chose to allow their loudmouth to respond for her.

Hidan perched himself on his knees to look over the seats, having sat himself by the window, "Also it's cause you're a woman. So our manly pride is at STA- fuck you Uchiha!" Itachi had chosen that moment to yank Hidan back down to avoid anymore sexist comments.

"Konan is capable of fighting. There is no need to make comments like that."

"You didn't have to fucking pull me! That hurt! I landed on the puppet fucker!"

"Deidara… get up, I'm going to get air."

Hidan's voice hit a higher note as his anger spiked, "You don't even breath you asshole!"

"And yet I am suffocating. Move brat."

Al watched in amusement as the one called Deidara got out and the shorter redhead swiftly left the cart without a word.

Ed looked at the taller blon, "Won't he fall off?" The fact that no one was reacting was concerning to him, didn't these guys cared for each other's safety?

"Nah, if Danna dies then that means my art was superior, un." Apparently not.

"You'd also get that fucker Tobi for a partner." The moment the name "Tobi" was uttered by the Jashinist, Deidara turned 50 shades of white. Now the brothers were curious to know who this Tobi person was, but they also didn't want the teen to have a heart attack as just the pure mention of that name seemed to have caused all brain functions to cease.

Konan brushed the conversation off as Deidara sat back down, "Tobi is new to the organization and is frequently seen terrorizing Deidara… Hidan, Deidara, you may continue with your plans, Hidan please remove your coat ahead of time." She pauses as two sets of feet excitedly run out of the cart and to the roof.

Itachi was all that was left, but they could fill in the others on what they missed later, "Now, tell me about alchemy."

Ed regains his composer and crosses one leg over the other, not noticing the eye twitch from Konan*, "Like I said… alchemy revolves around equivalent exchange…"

 _Back in Leore_

The town was rioting, demanding answers from the church, which had kept their doors barred to keep the angry populous out.

Cornello was pissed. His philosopher's stone broke and he lost the people of Leore's trust, all his work for nothing! How could this day get any wor-

"Seems as though your efforts were wasted Cornello… such a shame, you had high promise too." The familiar sultry tone came from a woman, casually watching him with a smirk as the fat, round man beside her ate the chimera.

"Lust, I'm still hungry, can I eat him? He looks so big and tasty!" Gluttony looked up at his sister with hope. But was disappointed when she told him no, something about indigestion. She pointed at Cornello with the intent of stabbing the man with her finger

"How dare you mock me-" He froze, blood poured out of him like a fountain as cut after cut appeared on his body. Soon he fell to the floor screaming in agony as his stomach was sliced open by an invisible force, the words "heathen" being carved on his limbs. Within seconds, the man fell dead from the pain and blood loss.

Lust stood there in shock, "Pride?" She called, hoping to see her older brother appear out of nowhere like a sick joke, but no one showed up. What on earth just happened?

Weird things have happened since those five Gluttony told her about showed up out of nowhere, "I'll need to call Central… Father won't be happy about this…"

Gluttony wasn't paying Lust any mind, he just grin, and proceed to eat Cornello.

"What did I say, Gluttony…?"

 _With Hidan and Deidara_

"Yeah, looks like I wrote the word right, un." Deidara was looking at a dictionary and carefully carving heathen on Hidan's limbs. A country called Xing used a similar alphabet to their own, just more kanji than anything else. It took him a few moments to find the word heathen and at Hidan's request, cut the Jashinist's limbs to have the words all over him, "I also found a word that you can use when talking about Jashin, instead of 'Jashin-sama' people will understand you more if you say 'Lord Jashin' instead, un."

They were on the roof of the train, using chakra and Deidara's bird to keep them from flying off from the wind. It marveled the Akatsuki how such a contraption can move, but also disappointed in its limited movement.

"Ahhhh yes… that feels good~." Hidan was enjoying killing Cornello, the bastard deserved to be sacrificed to Jashin and be out of their hair. Even he had to admit that the guy was messed up.

"You're one sick bastard Hidan... I call killing the next guy with my art, un!" This brought Hidan out of his ecstasy like state as he pulled his spear out of his stomach with a curse.

"Fuck your art! Jashin demands sacrifices!"

"My art is an explosion of beauty, one that you obviously won't understand with all that blood that rushes from your head, un!"

"Why you…-"

Sick of their bickering like an angry, old married couple, Sasori walked over to them. Tossing rags with cleaning solution at the two, who effortlessly caught them, "Clean up the blood, it will cause problems if anyone finds this before we make any moves."

The two younger shinobi roll their eyes and begin cleaning, "Whatever Sasori-no-danna, this artless bastard needs to understand that my explosions are no ordinary explosion, un!" This of course, didn't impress Sasori in the slightest.

The puppet master had a wave of realization hit him, "After you are done Deidara, you need to sleep. You're the only one here that hasn't rested in several days. It will be an inconvenience if you pass out while we talk with the head of this country." As if Sasori reminding Deidara was the equivalent of pressing a button, the teen was suddenly feeling exhausted.

"Right…" Finished with his clean up, Deidara returned to the cart, having needed Sasori's help halfway through. Itachi watched with some amusement as the teen passed out the moment Sasori got him in his seat, like a child on their ride home from the zoo.

Not wanting to deal with a cranky bomber, which would unleash a cranky puppet, the rest of the train ride was in silence.

* * *

 **There we go, the first two chapters of One Year. I'm hoping this turns out to be a pretty okay fanfic, I really do want to improve my writing and this particular one has my beta breathing down my neck to make sure it's up to her standards.**

 **I'm honestly really nervous about posting this for everyone to see, I don't write in 3rd person a lot and with so many main characters I can only pray things go smoothly. But the first 5 chapters have worked out, so why not? Everyone has to start somewhere in their writing.**

 ***** In Japanese culture, crossing your leg is considered rude because you are displaying the bottom of your dirty shoe to the person. Konan chooses not to mention it because she knows that Ed's culture is different.

 **In any case, reviews are loved. Next chapter will be the Akatsuki's time in central and how they react to… certain people. I'll see you guys in two weeks!**

 **Bye!**


	3. Central's Nightmare

**This is an earlier update than normal. For the readers who are new to me, I try to update on Saturdays, but because I'm busy this weekend I'm doing an early update. This chapter covers some pretty heavy plot points for the Akatsuki as they display their power.**

 **Thank you guys for the fave, follows and reviews, I really appreciate the support!**

 **Greer123: I'm glad you are enjoying the story!**

 **Yumi: I don't know why people rarely use the Akatsuki in crossovers, they're so much fun to write. I'm going to be honest, grammar is the worst part of my writing, I edit this by reading it out loud to my beta over the phone, and if something sounds weird we fix it. Since it's a novel/storytelling based format, grammarly and other websites HATE my dialogue because that does not have to be correct all the time.**

 **Guest: Right now, the Akatsuki view the boys as a way to get around the country with little hassle and also are good sources of information. It'll take a little bit before the Akatsuki become protective of the boys without outside influences.**

 **Pr1nc3ss K3nny: Pffffff… Hidan is no Zetsu hun, don't worry, he ain't gonna be eating bodies anytime soon. Also noooooo my 3rd person needs a lot of work to do. The Akatsuki want to handle things with as little conflict as possible… but they also will not allow others to push them around. They're S-ranked criminals after all.**

 **jexcel: Glad you find my story interesting. ^^**

 **Greggreg: Hope you enjoy this chapter then!**

 **Warning: Language, violence, the Akatsuki are no pushovers, I have no idea how militaries work, OOCness, Roy is a womanizer.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own FMAB or Naruto.**

* * *

While the Akatsuki and Elric brothers were heading back to Central, messy things were happening in other parts of the country. Major Armstrong and Lieutenant Colonel Hughes were ordered to use every resource available to take down an unknown man that was killing state alchemists. The only description they could get was that he has a scar on his face.

"Well, this'll be a challenge." Hughes sighs and rubs his face, "I'll phone Roy about this, we need to keep the alchemists safe."

Armstrong clenched his fists as sparkles emanated from him, "Yes! We must stop this madman before his terror could spread!" Before he could throw off his shirt in a flurry of passionate determination, Hughes had already disappeared to phone Roy.

 _Back in Central_

"Well Fullmetal, I see you made some friends, trying to compensate for your height?"

"Don't call me short you Colonel bastard!"

Konan looked at Al after eyeing the dark-haired man in the chair, "This is normal?" As amusing as it was that Edward acts like a wet cat from being called short, she wasn't sure how long she would tolerate the reactions without giving him a papercut… on his prosthetic arm.

If Al could, he would be sweating bullets but instead focused on a nervous laugh, "Y-yeah, the two like to poke fun at each other and insult one another. It can be pretty funny with how they treat each other."

The man that Ed referred to as "Colonel Bastard" almost instantly perked up at the sight of Konan and smoothly got up. Long, confident strides lead this Colonel to stand before the second in command of the Akatsuki.

"Colonel Roy Mustang, ma'am." He carefully took Konan's hand, and amusingly noted that not only is her ring not on the right finger, but the men had almost matching rings, "A pleasure to meet such a beautiful woman."

Konan arched an eyebrow when Roy leaned down to kiss her hand, only for her amusement to return when she was pulled away from him. Roy not only ended up kissing air but he nearly stumbled in the process. Looking up, he was met with three pairs of eyes glaring down at him, blue, black and pink.

"What the hell do you think you were doing you bastard, un?"

Roy blinked a few times owlishly, "What?"

Hidan scoffed in annoyance, "She's our leader's bitch. You don't go around kissing other people's bitches by the hand!" Konan abruptly made a giant paper fan and smacked the back of Hidan's head… which sent him flying.

Itachi rubbed his temples, eyes slightly rolling to the back of his head for a moment, "Apologies for their language, but they have a point. You do not kiss a woman's hand when you are neither her lover, husband or relative. Future or present."

Roy was taken aback at the odd custom, "Are you guys… from Xing? I heard they were strict with displays of affection, but this is odd even for me." Rubbing his jawline slightly, he sighs in disappointment when none of the men moved out of his way. Guess that's one beautiful woman he cannot go nearby.

Suddenly, the door flung open and a new officer entered the room. Nothing about him impressed the Akatsuki, sandy blond hair and blue eyes, average build. Even Mustang seemed confused at the man entering the room, something seemed off about this one.

The officer saluted Mustang, "I have orders from Fuhrer King Bradley to escort the newcomers to his office, sir." There was a slight feminine tone to his voice, but at the same time masculine. It was almost impossible to pinpoint a specific range with this one.

Deidara leans to Hidan, eye twitching, "I did not expect that kind of voice, un."

Hidan rolled his eyes and nudged the teen away, "What do you think I felt the first time I met you? Face it blondie, you have a man's body but a woman's face. It doesn't help the fact that our uniform hides all shapes." Deidara chose not to argue with this, at least Hidan was acknowledging the fact he was masculine from the neck-down.

Mustang gave the man a long look before nodding and waving him off, "Fullmetal, I expect your report on my desk before you leave. I have some information that may be of value to you."

"Yeah yeah…" Ed and Al left the room, walking around the soldier briskly to get some rest.

Konan followed this new officer with the Akatsuki behind her, mentally noting every window and door in the hallway. She also noticed how this officer would keep looking over his shoulder as if making sure they were still following him; it wasn't until she focused her hearing did she realize that out of caution, everyone had silenced their footsteps. Even Hidan was being quiet which was surprising everyone in the group and not just her.

"So we have two men, a child," The moment the officer looked at Sasori, Hidan and Deidara had their cheeks puffed out from contained laughter, "And two women." And now it's just Hidan that was laughing. Deidara was contemplating if blowing this other blond asshole up was worth the awaiting punishment.

"Oh man! This fucker thinks you're a bitch, Dei-chan! That's rich!" Hidan slapped Deidara on the back, causing the blond to stumble forward and bump into Itachi. The Uchiha calmly looked over his shoulder to confirm that yes, the one that hates him the most caused both of their personal spaces to be invaded.

Almost instantly Deidara flung himself away from the Uchiha as if Itachi's mere presence burned him and glared at the amused officer, "I'm a man, un."

That caught the officer by surprise but he quickly covered it with a smirk, "Maybe you guys should wear more noticeable outfits then." Ohhhhh that smirk struck a nerve.

"Maybe you should learn to watch your mouth-!"

Sasori yanked Deidara back so his partner was close to him and in a more controlled situation, "Gender does not matter when you are slitting an enemy's throat, but age…" Deidara's eye began having twitching fest when wooden fingers started digging into his shoulders.

Konan shot Sasori a look. Even if this harmed the puppet master's pride, pretending to be a child could help in the future.

Sasori caught the look and pretended to take a breath. Locking eyes with the officer he released his partner's coat, "Sorry… Bad train ride, I have a headache." It was the first thing that came to his mind, but thankfully these people aren't one to question lies apparently, as they were brought to this office without another question.

The Fuhrer's office was freakishly clean to the Akatsuki. Pein's office was somewhat clean, but being made of stone and steel could only get so shiny in the neverending rain of Amegakure. There was no paperwork visible, not a single spot of dirt, nothing. Just a man with an eyepatch and the soldier that escorted them.

Observing the two, Konan flashed her men with a gaze that promised consequences if any of them spoke without permission. Something was off about these two, especially the blond. His appearance was too generic to be working for the man in the chair. Even the Hokage of Konoha's helper had her own quirks by carrying around a pig.

Leaders never have normal people around them.

Like a well-oiled machine, everyone but Hidan became stiff and blank-faced. Hidan didn't care about appearances and was more focused on getting something out of his ear with his pinky.

King Bradley was amused by the display, "Well, with one exception you seem to have a nice collection of soldiers there, miss…?" He tilted his head, curious to know everyone's names. As the Fuhrer, it was expected that everyone spoke their names and rank, if they had one, to him.

"We are the Akatsuki, due to circumstances we will be residing in Amestris for a year. This is only half of our group." Konan avoided the question, "We collectively agreed that it would be best to inform the head of the state that we would be traveling and gathering information. Specifically with the Elric brothers. I hope this will not be an inconvenience."

Bradley hummed in amusement, "That I will not allow. You are all illegal in this country and should be thrown in prison as a result. For all the state could know you are a group of terrorists or anarchists that wish to harm the country." He did not miss the one with black hair staring at him, eyes turning crimson.

Little did Bradley realize, he was more on the money than he originally thought.

Konan didn't even blink, "You would be unable to keep us locked up if you tried. We are stronger than any of your men." Her eyes shifted to the blond soldier, "And it seems you even lack proper defenses as it is."

The blond was seething on the inside, 'Stupid humans! She thinks that because she has some men behind her, that she's better than us? And to say it like it's a fact!' As it turns out, this officer was Envy, no surprise there. He had received a call from Lust the other day talking about these five, and how one has the ability to kill without even being in the area. He hopes father gives them the order to kill them soon.

"Let's test that then." Bradley had already gotten up from his chair. In a flash, he had cut Konan through in an X-slice with his rapiers then made a beeline for Sasori. But he could not get to the redhead before Itachi stopped him with a simple kunai, sharingan spinning and staring at the man.

Both homunculi froze. When did he move?

"You lost this the moment you looked into my eyes." Like reality taking a shift, the voice came from behind. Bradley and Envy turned their heads to see Itachi sitting in the Fuhrer's chair, comfortably lounging in the leather. There was an unusual stack of papers on the desk too.

In fact, the whole office was in a different situation. Deidara and Sasori were examining a book on alchemist laws while Hidan had taken upon himself to sit down for his hourly prayer. When had any of them move?!

"Hmm… I wonder if puppets count as alchemy?"

Deidara snorts, "Well based on what we've learned, anything involving people is illegal. My art breaks all of the laws of equivalent exchange as well, un."

"We mean you no harm, Fuhrer," Envy looked at the ceiling as the room echoed with Konan's voice, "but I will not allow my men to be disrespected when we are out of your league." The room made the sound of paper shifting, as the entire room turned white.

Suddenly, hundreds of papers flew off the walls, floor, and ceiling and collected to the stack on the desk. Slowly taking the form of Konan, who was politely sitting on the desk with her ankles crossed. There was no issue in displaying a fraction of the Akatsuki's powers, especially if it catches this country's leader off-guard.

Bradley caught his composure almost instantly, giving the woman his disarming smile, "What interesting alchemy you have there. How about we make a deal, hm?" He waited for Konan to stand, only to be once again caught off-guard when she took over the fuhrer's chair from Itachi. Less than five minutes of meeting and Konan had taken over the room. To the leader of Amestris, this woman had as much leading potential as Major General Armstrong in Briggs.

"Very well, our terms are that your men stay out of my men's way. You will not ask us where we are from, and will not demand any display of power from any of the four. We will follow your laws, but if you get in our way… we will take over this country and throw you out of power." Never have these homunculus seen humans this confident in their own power, "And… your terms?"

Bradley nodded for a moment as he pretended to think, "What a bold woman you are. But you five are still illegal, which breaks one of the laws of this country… how would you like to become a state alchemist? If you can prove yourselves of being capable of becoming state alchemists, I would be willing to sign legal documentations for all of you."

This was the only way to keep these invaders on a leash, if he can get them separated then he can knock their power down. At least… that's what he believed, but it was never the truth in the matter.

The Akatsuki can function one-on-one just fine.

The shinobi perked in interest, something that was not missed. Ed had explained to them what a state alchemist was and how they start off with a decent militaristic rank. With it, they would have more free movement and funds to do as they please. Not to mention they would have access to information on this alchemy with no one to stop them.

However, Konan leaned forward and rested her elbows on the desk, "As the leader of this organization, I will be the one to become a state alchemist. You will not come near them with that offer. If you do, my men will be ordered to kill you." She made no room for arguments. Konan had no issues with working with this military. But as long as Nagato was absent, she would be in charge and will protect her organization members from this new world.

Bradley hummed in amusement to lace his growing annoyance, "I will arrange for an exam for you then. Since you are so confident in yourself, you will have the exams today, but I will need a name."

He got her on that one, but what makes it worse was that she knew he wanted a family name. She never had one. Narrowing her eyebrows, Konan glared at the man as the first thing came to her mind, " Ame no Konan... Our country introduces names backward, Konan is my given. I look forward to this exam." In one fluid motion, she stood from the chair and bowed to the Fuhrer then head out of the office, where several officers were waiting.

"Ah. Before you leave…"

The Akatsuki stopped to look at Bradley with mild boredom.

"The redheaded child with you shall be put under maximum security. If you show signs of being a threat to the country he will be killed. If you fail the exam, you will all be thrown in prison for illegally immigrating."

He was expecting Konan, being a woman, to argue against this arrangement. But instead, she merely nodded and waved the redhead towards some men that waited outside the door. Even worse was that Bradley spotted the blond and albino's cheeks puffing out and their faces were painted red from contained laughter. What's so funny?

"See ya puppet fucker! Try not to get impatient waiting for us- OW FUCK!" The Hidan's head was smacked forward by Deidara's backhand, "Fuck you blondie! You were laughing too!"

"Be nice, can't you see he's scared, un?" Deidara motion to a blank-faced Sasori. With a pause, he and Hidan locked eyes before bursting into laughter again, earning an eye roll from the puppet master.

Konan dipped her head to Bradley, "I look forward to obtaining the watch." Without another word, the group left with a different officer while Sasori was taken by the other men.

 _In the office_

Envy returned back to his "cuter" form and began to act very animated with his arms, "What the hell is with those humans?! They should be terrified of you Wrath but instead, they prance in here making threats!"

There's no way Xing has such unique alchemy! It's impossible! There has to be a trick behind these humans and their oddity.

Bradley, also known as Wrath, glowered at his desk, noticing the origami flower sitting in the middle of his desk, "I couldn't see past their illusions with my ultimate eye…" Whatever their alchemy was, it was unknown and if not controlled, dangerous.

Envy felt a whistle escape his lips unintentionally, "Well… I'll report this to Father. I already got some ideas on how a few of them act." With a mock salute, he turned into the boring officer and left the office.

Little did they know, they got lucky with who came to their country.

 _Back with the Akatsuki_

While Konan was chatting with Riza and Roy, Itachi was using his sharingan to speed read through the alchemy books inside the Colonel's office. Sure, the Akatsuki could always play things fairly and get Konan her title… but they're S-ranked criminal shinobi. Since when did shinobi play fair?

It only took a couple of hours for the exam to be prepared for Konan since conveniently, several high ranking officers and a few alchemists happened to be in Central at the time. In the wide-open room, Konan stood in the middle with two officers on either side while the Akatsuki stood by the Elric brothers. King Bradley chose not to attend, as it would seem suspicious of him to be interested in someone besides Fullmetal.

Holding her pointer and middle finger up in a one-handed sheep sign, her body split apart in hundreds of papers, sending everyone in a state of awe. The awe factor was not only because she did not use a transmutation circle, but this broke the laws of matter by turning an organic matter into an inorganic matter. Displaying military strength instead of how this power could be used to help the people, Konan scatters her papers over one of the officers. Like a mummy wrapped in bandages, she covered everything but his nose so he could breathe.

Taking control of the officer's body, she has him punch his teammate in the face, before forming her head on his shoulder, "I will only display this much of my abilities." And removing herself completely, going back to her normal form.

No one moved or spoke for several moments as the Akatsuki proudly smirked at their boss… well, almost. The officer she possessed fell to the ground in shock, unsure if he wanted to run away or shoot the woman.

He chose to shoot.

Wheezing in fear, the officer pulled out his pistol and fired, aiming for her head. Several individuals shouted for the officer to cease fire, but the bullet had already passed her skull… and scatter into paper?

"Alright, next person who uses one of those gun thingies on us will be FED their fucking gun!" Hidan and the others leaped over the balcony and to the floating paper. Konan formed back to her physical self but had to lean on Itachi for support. Just because she dodged the bullet does not excuse the splitting headache it caused.

Deidara picked up the officer by the collar, everyone was surprised at the smaller male's strength despite the officer being burlier. With a cocky grin, Deidara shoved his hand into the pouch at his hip, "Quite the bang… bet I could make a louder one, un."

"I doubt you will listen to me, but Konan did give us the order to keep our abilities a secret." Deidara snapped his head to glare venomously at Itachi. Of course he was right, and he hated that.

"Whatever, un." Throwing the man back on the ground, he returned to his group. But that didn't stop him from being pleased with how terrified the man was.

The Akatsuki left the room without being dismissed, it was obvious that they were eager to get this over with. Everyone could only stare blankly at the bullet that remained motionless on the ground. Whoever these people were, they seemed impossible to kill.

Roy turned to Riza with a sigh, "I have a feeling this will give me more paperwork if they hang out with the brothers…"

Riza didn't miss a beat, "I'll make sure to get you some new pens on my way home, sir."

Roy did not miss Ed snickering behind him evilly.

 _Several hours later_

Beautiful, disciplined and controlled. These three words are how colonel Roy Mustang would describe the woman being psychologically evaluated by officers as part of the exam. There were few women in the military, and he cannot remember if any of them were state alchemists. One of the reasons was because of this test.

It was made to test temperament, loyalty and overall emotional control, something Konan seemed to have perfected. Each test was different depending on age, background, and sex. Fullmetal had different questions that were more intellectual and mental health based than Konan's.

Everything she said was vague enough to not give any material to be used against her, but at the same time straightforward and left no room for questions. What caught his attention was her responses on friends, it was the only one that was not vague and sounded… like a threat.

"Your friends are threatening the military, what would your response be for the country?"

"They would be in control before a warning could be given." After that statement, she remained calm and collected. Not even the questions that usually broke down most candidates phased her. But he did notice her fist clenching when asked if she would kill a child for the sake of the country.

The final decision would be in the written exam, why this process was going faster than most is what left Roy confused. Fullmetal was one of the few alchemists that finished his exam within a day, but that boy was a genius in his own right. These strangers knew nothing about alchemy.

And yet, Konan was passing everything with flying colors. The only one that has bothered even reading alchemy books was that kid Itachi, but he had zoomed through them faster than Ed's temper after being called short. And were his eyes red? Roy also noticed that every time he looked at the dark-haired boy, he would discreetly inch closer to the others, much to his blond comrade's displeasure.

In the end, Konan earned her state alchemist title of Blue Rose Alchemist* along with the silver pocket watch and information on how to access her own research account.

Konan examined the pocket watch with interest, there was nothing special about it besides being made of silver. No matter. Looking up to everyone in Roy's office, she stood from her seat, "Restroom, Itachi will accompany me."

The Uchiha also stood from his seat and followed the woman to the restroom… except he followed her into the room. Said boy had a smile that was almost a little too feminine, even for him.

"Good work, Itachi."

A cloud of smoke poofed around Konan, and soon there were two Itachis. The one closer to the door soon poofed into Konan and held her hand out, which was soon filled with the pocket watch.

"If that's all it takes to become a part of this world's government, then they are in trouble." Itachi adjusted his ponytail, which was becoming loose, "No one could tell the difference."

After Konan displayed her alchemist strength, she and Itachi swapped places to finished the tests. It's not cheating if they can't be caught in the first place.

"Indeed, though I could do without Mustang giving you what I would describe to be bedroom eyes. I wasn't the one he was looking at… but the fact you looked like me when he was giving you that look… I felt uncomfortable being in the same room with him." Even though Konan had to give respect to Roy for being so willing to help them out, she could do without his obvious womanizing tendencies.

Knowing that they were most likely being spied on, Konan went into a stall and flushed a toilet, Itachi stepped out looking like Riza Hawkeye. This resulted in that same blond soldier from before looking at him like he's grown two heads.

Itachi mimicked Riza's physical gestures perfectly while waiting for Konan to "finish" her business. Once the second-in-command stepped out, he escorted her back to Mustang's office, turning back to normal just before opening the door.

"Congratulation Konan, not many can pass the exam." Roy gave her a polite nod of his head before turning his head to Ed, "Well Fullmetal, I do owe you for leading you to a dead end. So I will introduce you to the Sewing Life Alchemist, Shou Tucker."

* * *

 **Well, now we know how the Akatsuki plan on handling their time in this world. I knew that due to their personalities that there was no way Bradley would be able to keep control of the situation for long. The Akatsuki are not like Konoha shinobi, where they could be overpowered or out-witted, these are S-ranked criminals that are powerful in their own right and are not bound by this world's laws of physics. It's only natural that they would use their abilities to get what they want.**

 **Konan doesn't have a confirmed last name, so I had her make one up on the spot, Ame No Konan literally means "Konan of the Rain". Kinda lame I know, but it's easy to remember and less likely to be misspelled on official paperwork while they are in the FMAB world.**

* My beta and I spent a long time trying to figure out what Konan's alchemist name would be. We didn't want to use anything referencing angels because that's cliche and boring, so Blue Rose Alchemist was invented!

 **Next chapter is… Well… based on the ending note, anyone who knows about the FMA and FMAB timeline will know exactly what's going to happen next.**

 **As always, reviews are loved and I will see you lovelies in two weeks!**

 **Bye!**


	4. Konan's Broken Heart

**Well… this chapter had to happen eventually. You all know what's going to happen, but it's a matter of how the Akatsuki are going to handle this.**

 **I will say this ahead of time: Please keep all Nina and Alexander jokes to yourself. Feel free to make literally ANY other joke in your reviews if you want, but I do not want to hear about that meme. A few of my readers have expressed their dislike for the memes and my beta and I share their opinion.**

 **Anyway, thank you guys for the faves, follows and reviews!**

 **Greggreg: The Akatsuki will occasionally split up throughout the story whenever it fits, but for the most part they will try to stick close to each other. Even if their true nature is revealed, that won't stop them from going separate ways.**

 **Greer123: I'm doing really well actually, thank you! :)**

 **Yumi/Guest: Oh trust me, Sasori is going to be mistaken for a child fairly often by people. His short height doesn't help him in this whole thing. XD**

 **Warning: Violence, language, it's the Nina episode so you all should know whats going to happen, character deaths, vomiting, Hidan is actually semi-intelligent (not really a warning but I couldn't resist), some OOC (this warning will vanish after chapter 5. It should be obvious by that point).**

 **Disclaimer: My heart would break owning FMAB, too many emotions all wrapped in one beautiful series. But I don't own it. Oh, and I also don't own Naruto either.**

* * *

Roy escorted the Elric brothers and company to Shou Tucker's home to introduce the group to the Sewing Life Alchemist. It didn't take long for Roy to leave them to their studies, and for chaos to arrive.

"Get this damn dog off me!" Ed was currently being crushed by a giant dog, while Al was socializing with Tucker's daughter, Nina. The Akatsuki were… well…

"You're on your own, shrimp!" Hidan laughed sadististically as the rest of the Akatsuki were studying. He promised to behave and not swear around the kid under the orders of Konan with the promise of decapitation if he disobeyed. In reality, and he didn't want to admit this out loud, he liked dogs and didn't want this one to hate him because he had made the furball's human upset.

Slowly standing from her seat, Konan silently walked over to Ed after he freed himself from Alexander's love tackle, "Why don't you two enjoy yourself and play with Nina and the dog? We'll be studying and we'll tell you what we find." Konan wasn't sure what they could find. They could barely read this world's language, as evidence of Itachi's frantic decoding of the language nearby Sasori. Their first hurdle would be to learn this world's alphabet before they could even begin research. It was rather odd that they could understand what everyone was saying, and yet their alphabet could be so different.

Ed eyed her with a level of distrust and crossed his arms, "What's the catch?" This amused Konan more than she thought was possible. This world revolved around the ideas of equivalent exchange so much that a casual offering was met with caution. In the world of shinobi, of course a offer could easily lead someone with a kunai lodged in their throat, but the last thing Konan would want would be to harm children. Adults… well, they were fair game.

"No catch. We are both fellow state alchemist now, Ed. However, you and your brother are still children and were forced to grow up under unique circumstances. Why not take this time to enjoy life while you are still young?" Being in her 30's, Konan was no longer a child herself. Had Yahiko not died and Madara taking over the Akatsuki she may have had… no, there's no time to dwell on "what if"s. She had a mission to fulfill and the past was not going to help her in this.

Reluctantly, Ed agreed to play and within hours the shinobi could hear the sound of cheerful laughter outside. No one looked out the window to see what was going on, they all knew what laughter sounds like. The sound was peaceful to Konan and Itachi, who longed for peace and for a day when children would be expected to run outside in the sun and play. But it was… mildly annoying for everyone else, as they didn't have the same idea of peace as their leader and the Uchiha.

For the next two days, every time the little girl showed up, the brothers would play with her and the dog. The Akatsuki had managed to get the basic grasp of the language, as they could verbally read them outloud. This just required them to take their time with reading and do it one at a time. The process was slow, but they were making progress. Sasori was already practicing drawing transmutation circles to test them out later to make poisons.

"Thought you folks would like some coffee while you studied." Shou Tucker entered the library later the third day with some coffee and snacks for his guests, "Thank you for letting the Elric brothers play with Nina, she's been lonely ever since my wife left…"

Konan dipped her head as she stared into the oddly colored liquid, she couldn't even see the bottom of the cup, "It's nothing to thank us for, it was their choice." Blinking once at a sound that escaped the back of Itachi's throat, the group watched Tucker leave behind the door.

The Akatsuki only took sips to be polite, but Sasori was examining it for poisons, finding nothing of interest besides caffeine… large amounts of caffeine… an alarming amount of caffeine. The drink was quickly confiscated from Deidara and Hidan when the mature side of the group realized that maybe giving them such a high dosage of caffeine would be a bad idea.

"Come on Danna, it won't affect me, un!" Despite the strong taste, Deidara instantly found enjoyment in the dark liquid, especially when he realized sugar could be added. The drink also tasted rather delicious when he dunked the little cookies that were served with the coffee. Naturally, all eyes trailed to the bomber's bouncing leg after his claim. The teen barely had a third of the cup and the caffeine was already getting to him.

"I will not deal with a hyper brat." Sasori grabbed Hidan's cup as well and then dumped the cups' content out the window. Half a second later a yell was heard from down below, as their short blond friend was now soaked and smelled like his favorite drink.

Deidara crossed his arms with a scoff, not a pout, a scoff. Shinobi do not pout! "Whatever Danna… ruining the only fun I've had in two days, un."

Itachi eyed the liquid, "That man must not see us as a threat, none of the drinks were poisoned… Though I do prefer tea over this strong smelling liquid they call coffee." Considering how pathetic this world's weaponry was, he doubt any poison given would actually kill them.

A thought came to Sasori, "We've only been here for three days, but I already hate that man…" Konan turns her head from her book to see Sasori glaring at the door Tucker had used to leave the room, "He's too much like Orochimaru." Being that snake's partner for so many years, Sasori knew how he worked and developed an instant distaste for the alchemist. Only now was the feeling settling into the only human part of his body, his heart.

Konan closed her book softly to walk towards the window and observe Al and Ed playing with Nina and Alexander. Crossing her arms under her chest, she leaned against the frame with a fond smile forming, "He has a good daughter… Something doesn't seem right though… his wife left him the same year he made a talking chimera…"

Itachi tilted his head slightly, "Is something the matter?"

"Somewhat… unless there was a mass economic between both parents… I don't understand why Tucker's wife didn't take their daughter with her. She is the mother after all and Tucker doesn't provide his daughter with the attention a small child needs…" Konan rested one of her hands against her cheek, "And the things Mustang told us about the chimera… it said it wanted to die…"

Deidara furrowed his eyebrows in thought, "He…" Looking at his lap for a moment to think, suddenly eyes widening, "There's no way these people are that crazy…" but whatever the thought was, he waved it off with a shake of his head, blond hair swinging with his head's movement, "Nah…"

Itachi looked to Deidara, "What is it?" He chose to ignore the glare that was given to him, "You thought of something, I want to know what it is. I'm sure everyone here wants to know as well."

Deidara folds his arms and closes his eyes as he collected his thoughts, "Well, only humans and some birds have the vocal cords to make proper sounds that can be recognized as a form of speech. Earlier today I had used Konan's title to look at photos of Tucker's chimera to look for more artistic ideas," he ignored his partner's scoff, "The chimera didn't have birdlike features, it was definitely mammal. So my thought is…"

"The fucker used a human!"

"... thanks for stealing my thunder, Hidan, un."

Okay, most of the Akatsuki were shocked that the supposed dumbest members could come up with that conclusion so fast. Granted, Deidara was not stupid, he's just a pyrotechnic and has, in Sasori's opinion, poor taste in art; but he has one of the fastest calculating minds in the Akatsuki. Hidan on the other hand… yeah, no one knows what's going on in Hidan's head.

"We will discuss this when the risk of being eavesdropped are at its lowest." With her nose in a book, Konan resumed her studies. The last thing she wanted to think about was more reasons to hate this new world even more than she already did. They were not even in this world for a week… and yet so many things have left a permanent impression on her mind, most of it was disgust for the corruption and how powerless the majority were compared to those with the weapons.

On the fourth day, four of the five Akatsuki members chose to give the brothers a break.

"We will play with Nina and the dog. You two read." Konan held back her amusement as Ed tried not to pout at not spending time with Nina and Alexander. But a nudge from Al sent them to the library with Sasori following behind.

Despite finding enjoyment in the knowledge this world brought, Sasori remained detached to everything and chose to let the others make relationships. He had his own ways of making his time in this world more fulfilling.

Konan turned her attention to the tiny child hiding behind a corner looking at them shyly, they were a rather intimidating bunch huh? Kneeling down so she's the height of a taller child, she pulled out some paper and made an origami rose and pulled out stretchy ninja wire. The movements almost instantly catching the girl's attention.

Nina slowly inched towards the strange woman as she put the wire through the paper flower and then held it out to her, "May I put this in your hair?" To Nina, this looked like a pretty hair accessory, something she's never owned before.

Nina's eyes lit up with awe and excitement as she turned on her heel to let the woman do her hair. She feels her braids come undone and gentle fingers weave around her hair, like when mommy would do her hair up on special occasions. Minding her manners and remembered to be a good girl, she chirped out, "My name's Nina and my dog's name is Alexander!" The dog barked at the sound of his name being called, causing the blond and albino to jolt at the sudden sound.

"Konan. The one with dark hair is Itachi, the blond is Deidara and the with white hair is Hidan." These people had funny names, but Nina held her giggles to not be rude. But that barely helped as the adults could feel her amusement. Children really were open books.

Taking Nina to a window, Konan watched fondly as the small child admired herself in the reflection. She had taken out Nina's braids and turned it into a bun, using the flower as a way to hold everything up. The child's hair was thin, almost too thin to be used for anything but she made due. Behind her, Itachi was also standing nearby and watching the child admire her new look with a slight swell in his chest. To him, Nina ended up looking like a brunette Konan.

Nina giggled happily to herself then pointed up at Konan, "I look like you, sissy!" Time stood still momentarily for the shinobi. "Sissy"? This child trusted her enough to call her that? Or was it because her name was a little harder to pronounce? It didn't really matter in the long run, the need to make this child happy and safe rang out like a dozen bells inside Konan's mind.

An idea came to Konan as she thought of ways to play with the child, "Nina… have you ever wanted to fly?"

 _With Hidan and Deidara_

"Okay so… The Uchiha bastard and Konan are watching the kid… does that mean we get the mutt?" Hidan and Deidara watched as the giant white dog wagged his tail while staring at the two men, waiting to be played with.

"I guess so… but I never played with a dog before, un." Hard to blame Deidara, Iwagakure was not very animal friendly besides their insect clan. The majority of dogs were loyal to the Inuzuka clan. Little hard to play fetch with a dog that would sooner rip his throat out.

"Same…"

"..."

"..."

"I like dogs, un."

"Same."

"..."

"..."

"Should we see how fast he is?"

"Fuck yeah!"

As if they had said "play" or "walk" Alexander began barking happily and jumping around at the new intensity of their voices. Crouching down and a quick butt wiggle later, Alexander lept into the air. He was instantly entranced at how the taller blond skillfully dodged his love pounce compared to the shorter human that he usually jumps on. Now he was on a mission: Pounce these new humans and cover their faces with kisses! He shall succeed!

Not wanting to harm the dog, Hidan and Deidara threw their weapons and coats over to a nearby tree, specifically where Itachi and Konan could see so Nina wouldn't get hurt. However, they weren't expecting Alexander to respond to the throw.

"...Shit! Hey dog! My fucking scythe is not a fucking stick!" Hidan was now the one chasing the large canine as Alexander gleefully bolted off with his new prize. This dog could give the Inuzuka clan a run for their money, cause even Hidan was struggling to keep up, and he was running using chakra!

Deidara was able to catch the dog off-guard and take the scythe away, at the cost of getting slobbered on, "Hidan! No swearing, un! Stop licking me!" Now Deidara was at the mercy of how much love Alexander wanted to give him, and this dog had a lot of lovens to give. Everytime he tried to get away, the dog would promptly sit down on the shinobi and resume his kissing. Once Deidara's hair was so thick with slobber that it stood straight up, Alexander trotted off to his tree to do his business.

Hidan snorted in amusement as he tilted his head up, "The shrimp can't hear me, she's too busy flying- wait. Uhhhhh hey, Uchiha! Is it a good idea to let Konan fly with the kid?" Konan was flying around with Nina attached to her neck, the occasional shriek could be heard as Konan did loops in the air.

Itachi activated his sharingan, a ghost of a smile traced his lips under the collar of his coat, "She'll be fine."

 _Back with Konan and Nina_

Konan never expected that one day she would be happily playing with a five year old, but here she was, flying around with a giggling child clinging to her. This was what her and Nagato were striving for, world domination to ensure wars end and children didn't have to suffer the costs of adults choosing violence of peace like they did growing up. It was almost wholesome to her that even with the corrupt like that Cornello guy, there were pockets of peace such as Nina… even the Elric brothers, with all their problems, were good kids at heart. It was almost easy to forget the troubles of the world.

"I'm slipping!" Or not, before Konan could react Nina slipped from her hold and fell. What would seem weird to anyone watching was that she didn't panic, she just stayed in the air and watched the child fell farther and farther away.

Until Itachi quickly caught her, of course.

Nina remained petrified for a solid minute as Itachi stood still so he didn't startle her. Turning off his sharingan he slowly sets the child down onto the ground, "Are you alright?" Nature decided to add a sense of whimsical magic in Itachi's appearance, the sun poked out of some clouds and shined almost directly on him.

Like every other female that has ever laid their eyes on an Uchiha, Nina's cheeks became a soft pink as she stared up at her savior, "A prince…" Here we go again...

Itachi couldn't help but crack a smile and shake his head, "No… I'm no prince. I'm a shinobi, a fighter." Taking out a kunai, he demonstrates by throwing it and having it perfectly slice through a branch of a tree, causing it to fall to the ground.

Now Nina was even more amazed, clapping her hands in delight, "A princely shin…. Shinobi!" Well… it was a start. Her attention was deviated towards Konan, who had landed and turned her angel wings back into her feet, "Are you a shinobi too?"

Konan nodded, fixing Nina's hair as the fall messed it up, "Yes, in fact, we are all shinobi and I am their… boss." It was the easiest way to explain to a five year old without making her confused with complicated words.

Nina's eyes lit up at the older woman's words, "So… girls can be the boss of things?" A nod, "Is big brother a shinobi too?" Konan and Itachi exchanged glances, assuming that Ed was the "big brother" and shook their heads in response to the question.

Konan gave the girl a patient smile, "No, he is an alchemist, like your dad." This satisfied her enough to want to resume play, but now she wanted to learn how to throw kunai.

Itachi saw no reason to argue with this, he knew how to use one when he was four, and it would help her learn survival skills. Nina struggled with the weight of the knives, but she got the hand of shurikens, throwing them in an unorthodox manner and calling them "spinny darts". More power to her if this helps her learn.

When it was time for the Akatsuki and the Elric brothers to return to their hotel room, something wasn't settling well in most of the Akatsuki's guts. The soldier that had picked them up reminded Tucker that his revaluation exam was soon and they could practically smell the desperation escaping the alchemist's pours. None of them slept, save for Deidara, Sasori had to drug the blond after he showered to keep him from talking all night long.

The following morning, Sasori had everyone meet in the same room to discuss something while they were eating breakfast, "Listen… Getting attached to the child and the dog is a bad idea." He paused for a moment before continuing, "We are only here for one year, remember that. It wouldn't do us any good to become attached to others knowing that we will never see them again…"

Deidara notices the pause, "What's the other reason, un?" Honestly, they SHOULD be making connections incase they ever come back to this world to expand more on their knowledge of this alchemy. Deidara wouldn't mind introducing this world to his art, they need more creativity in this bland conforming society.

Sasori eyes his younger partner in approval, "Good job catching that… Something is going to happen in that household soon. Tucker is way too desperate for my liking, and if he's anything like Orochimaru…" He sighs and pulls out his notes that he had made yesterday, "I found his research notes for making chimeras, this world uses weak codes to hide their secrets. In his notes he mentions that he used a person, as the brat and Hidan mentioned before, to make his talking chimera… Tucker doesn't go outside, and he needs a person to make the chimera. The only person that resides in his house besides him…"

The cogwheels went into overdrive.

Konan's fork slowly slipped from her fingers as she paused mid bite, causing the metallic object to land on the ground with a sharp clang and her food splattering around her feet. Knocking her chair over she got up from her seat and ran out the room. Itachi and Deidara were on her tail while Hidan stayed behind for a moment.

The Jashinist didn't understand what was happening for a moment as he stared at Sasori, "The only other person… fuck! The kid!" It didn't take long for him to bolt after the three, leaving Sasori behind.

Sasori began gathering his herbs from a scroll and drew a transmutation circle on some paper, placing all the herbs in a vial with the correct amount of water. Clapping his hands together, the liquid turned a soft blue color that after a moment, turned pink due to the chemical components inside, "Alchemy works… they'll need this calming agent…" Staring at the liquid, he slammed his fist on the table. If he could, Sasori's breath would be ragged and tense at this point, "I'll kill Tobi for sending us here. If something happens to that little girl, everyone will be a mess…"

 _With the Elric brothers_

"This is the chimera." Tucker escorted the brothers to his dark research room, where a doglike creature waited for them with soulless white eyes. Kneeling by the chimera, Tucker gently petted its hair as the brothers were in awe at the creation, "Don't be shy now. That person is Edward." He let's Ed pet the chimera, taking a few steps back into the shadows as the chimera opened its mouth.

"Ed...ward…" The voice was androgynous, but a voice nonetheless.

"Amazing! It talks!" Ed watched the chimera repeat his name over and over with a grin.

"Ed...ward… Ed...ward…" The chimera's lips pull into an attempted smile, "Big... Brother… Ed…"

Total silence.

"Hey… Tucker… when did you become a state alchemist?"

"... Two years ago."

"And when did your wife leave you?"

"That was also two years ago…"

"Okay...Now… answer me this…" Ed glared at Tucker with unmeasurable rage, "Where are Nina and Alexander?!" Beside him, Al gasped at the question.

Tucker adjusted his glasses, before looking down at Ed with a cold gaze, "I really hate perceptive brats like you."

Without warning, Ed pushed Tucker to the wall, punching him over and over again, yelling in his face until Al stopped him. Nina was telling Ed to not hurt her dad, and that was enough to get him to let Tucker go as his own heart was splitting apart. He wanted to punch Tucker again, but he didn't want Nina to see. Al took her outside, and Ed could hear her tired voice.

"Can we play…? Can we… can we play…?" Her mind was broken and morphed with her dog, her voice was a record player that knew a few words now. Her voice was the only thing left in her humanity that the brothers could grasp.

The door slamming open and the new voices outside made Edward's heart stop.

"Hey furball! Where the fuck are you?!" The brothers exchanged glances as they heard Hidan yelling for Alexander. They forgot about the Akatsuki. Neither of them moved when a panicked Konan burst through the room.

All Konan could think in her head was making sure the child was safe, call it instinct or call it the selfish desire to protect something she herself lost. Doesn't matter what it was called, she just wanted Nina to be okay and the fears in her mind to calm themselves.

"Is Nina here?" Konan looks around, at the bloodied Tucker, at the grief stricken Edward, at the chimera in the hallway-

"Sissy… Sissy…"

The content of Konan's breakfast threaten to pour out of her as the chimera walked to her, nuzzling its snout against her limp hand. This couldn't be Nina… this had to be a coincident and the chimera was just being friendly. Nina was most likely in her room. It was early in the morning after all. Yeah, that's right, she was sleeping in and soon she would show up and ask for her hair to be put up in the origami flower-

"Sissy… Sissy… flower gone… lost… flower… sorry… Sissy…"

Konan lost her breakfast.

Blood boiled as she suddenly began holding Tucker by the throat, crushing his alchemist watch that he was holding so tenderly under her foot. Paper slowly covered his body as the other Akatsuki members piled in the room. She didn't care that she looked like a mess, with sick on her coat and tears rolling down her cheeks, all she wanted was to rip this monster apart.

"You turned your daughter into a chimera? That's fucked up even for my standards." Hidan cupped Nina's chin to look into her eyes, Itachi was examining her with his sharingan, "It's like her soul is gone… fuck…" Hidan had to suppress a gag when Nina nuzzled his hand.

The thin veil of calm could barely stay within Konan's voice, "You used… your child, your flesh and blood… if you were so desperate to create a talking chimera… Why didn't you use someone that couldn't be MISSED?!" At last, her voice cracked. This man was nothing like Orochimaru. Orochimaru wouldn't be this stupid when picking his experiments.

Despite the fact that his airway was being constricted, Tucker laughed, "What I am doing is no different than any scientist trying to progress knowledge! I'll do whatever I can to ensure I'm a state alchemist!" This man's nature was laid stark naked to Konan, not even his daughter was safe from his selfish desires.

"Someone remove me from this man before I kill him in front of his daughter…" Konan had to be carefully peeled off Tucker by Al and Deidara just before the military arrived. Nina and Tucker were put in a separate room while the brothers left to think, "... Deidara, get Sasori. If alchemy cannot fix her… jutsu may."

Deidara didn't argue and left to get his partner. The remaining two stuck with Konan, guarding the door to the room she changed in as her mind collected her thoughts. This world was… sick, twisted, it was worse than the Five Great Nations. Anyone can learn to fight, to kill, to protect… this world restricted these powers to a handful, either through guns or alchemy. Defenceless people like Nina suffered the greed from it.

Itachi was having a similar internal crisis. Nina reminded him of Sasuke when he was young, looking up at him with awe. Even a pacifist like him wanted Tucker dead, there were monsters in both worlds that had no reason to exist longer than they should.

Hidan didn't even want to sacrifice Tucker to Jashin, that disgusting individual didn't deserve the honor. He was certain Jashin would reject the sacrifice even if he tried.

Once she was done changing, Itachi was the first to remove Konan from the area, leaving the two military officers to guard the house. They would be back when Deidara brings Sasori and fixes Nina, hopefully when Konan has calmed down.

Except… that time away was all it took for Scar to break in the house, ending Nina and Tucker's lives.

By the time Maes and several other officers showed up and covered the bodies with tarps, Sasori and Deidara barged into the room.

"Danna, Nina is over ther-" Deidara paused, staring at the blood splatters and the tarps. Faster than any normal human, he grabbed Maes by the collar and shook him, making the man's glasses lay skewed by the force, "What did you bastards do, un?!"

Maes blinked a few times. Grabbing the younger's wrists to free his collar and adjust his glasses, "We did nothing. We believe they were killed by a man we call Scar, who has been targeting state alchemists. Who are you two?"

Running a hand through his dripping wet hair, Deidara let out a shaky breath, "Konan is not going to be happy…" Gagging slightly, the bomber leaned against the wall to try and calm himself down.

"Out of my way." Sasori shoved an officer aside so he could lift up the tarp and laid a glowing hand over Nina's corpse, "We are bodyguards to the Blue Rose Alchemist…" With a sigh, he shook his head slowly, "brat, this was reversible."

 _An hour later_

Maes looked over his shoulder hearing the rest of the Akatsuki enter the room. Deidara was sitting against a wall with his head in his knees, Sasori was standing by the covered bodies. But to them, the bodies might as well be exposed for the world to see.

Konan's mouth became dry, no words could escape her lips. She could only blankly stare at the tarps. A small voice in the back of her mind echoed through her, 'You were too slow. You should have taken her to Sasori yourself. You want peace and yet you can't do something this simple?'

Getting up from his position, Deidara eyed Konan then lightly smacked Itachi on the chest. Itachi stared at the appendage before taking Konan's shoulders and gently escorting her outside the room.

"What the fuck happened here?!" Hidan barked out the question as he began to pull out his scythe, noting the officers reaching for their guns, "Save it. Those things couldn't kill me if you tried." The hole in his head from before had long since healed, thanks to his regeneration skills, "Now one of you fuckers answer my question!"

Maes gulped at the sight of the blade, Roy did mention to him that one of these guys carried an odd weapon, "A man that we have dubbed as Scar killed them. He's been targeting state alchemists as of lately. I… guess chimeras fall under his category of extermination…"

Hidan scrunched up his nose in thought after putting his weapon away, "If this just recently happened… isn't the midget and his metalized brother nearby?" Why did he just hear a gasp in the hallway?

Like winter coming early, a blizzard of papers flew into the room and smashed through the windows, causing glass and rain water to spray out in all directions. Almost at an instant the paper transformed into Konan as she raced down the street. The Akatsuki didn't hesitate to follow her lead, leaving a somewhat dazed military behind.

Maes stood there dumbfounded for a moment, before letting out a slew of curses that if his daughter said he would have a heart attack, "Call for backup! The Fullmetal Alchemist is in danger!"

 _Meanwhile, in the rain…_

Ed and Al sat there in the rain, broken at the news of Nina's death. Nothing mattered at the moment. They were suppose to serve the people, yet they couldn't save one little girl from a cruel fate. A shadow was casted over Ed's small form.

"You… are the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric… correct?"

Ed slowly lifted his head to look at a dark-skinned man wearing sunglasses, no light could reflect his eyes, "Yeah…?" Something was off, but he couldn't pinpoint it. That was, until the man lifted his hand.

"Brother!"

Without warning, Ed was pulled away from potential death by his younger brother. Regaining his senses, he clapped his hands to create a wall… only for their assainlent to destroy it without breaking a sweat.

'This is bad… how…? We have to get away.' "Al! RUN!" The brothers turned around to get away from the man, but everytime they used alchemy to get away, he would destroy whatever they created, "What the hell, I haven't done anything to set anyone after me… okay nevermind, I've done a lot of things."

The brothers turn a corner into an alleyway, hoping that the tight quarters would help create more barriers away from this man, and Ed's… ahem… size would give him an advantage. But this plan failed as an alchemic like explosion was made, blocking the brother's paths.

"What the hell do you want?!"

"Think of it this way: If there is someone who created you, then there is someone who will destroy you as well." The brothers couldn't here any hatred in his voice, no remorse either, it was as if this was another job for the stranger. The decision was final, they couldn't flee… so they had to fight and hopefully buy enough time for backup to come. They just needed to make enough noise to catch someone's attention.

The brothers attempted to land a strike, but they were too slow in their movements. The man known as Scar placed his hand on Al's side, destroying a chunk of the armor.

"You bastard!" Ed ran towards Scar, enraged that his brother got hurt. He wasn't able to hurt Scar, but now the man knew that Edward's arm was automail as he ripped off his tattered coat. Grabbing the teen's arm, Scar effortlessly destroyed the only way for him to fight back. Ed landed on the wet ground, unable to get up as fear ate away his ability to stand.

"Brother! You need to run! Brother!" But Al's voices were almost muffled in Ed's ears as blood pumped in them.

Ed was frozen on the spot, as he tried to crawl back he could only to fall on his face without his automail arm keeping him steady. There was no way he could get away. He was in danger, his brother was in danger.

"I will allow you to pray to God before you die…" Scar patiently walked towards the teen, even though he was on a mission, he understood that the Fullmetal alchemist was still a child and had the chance of redemption in the afterlife. He was not a part of the war, just a puppet in the grand scheme of the Armistrist military.

"Sadly… there isn't a god that I want to pray to. But am I the only one you're after? Or are you going to kill my little brother, Al, as well?"

"I will decide if he gets in my way, but the only one here that is to receive my judgement is the Fullmetal Alchemist… you…"

"Alright…" Ed clenched his fist, if death was going to come to him early, he needed to make sure Al was safe. He twisted his head to stare at Scar in the eyes, "then swear that you won't hurt my little brother."

"I'll keep my word, so pass on without worry for your brother." Scar raised his hand, Al began screaming, for the man to stop, for Ed to run, but he couldn't get up. Scar's hand nearly touched Ed's head had it not been for a paper shuriken to slice his palm.

"Step away from the boys…" It took Konan a second to regain her composure. It didn't help that every one of her men, but Sasori, were looking at her like she was crazy. Maybe she was at this moment? What difference did it make? Nothing, nothing at all, her mind was only focused on protecting these boys.

"This doesn't concern you woman, only me and the alchemis-" The man was caught by surprised when a silver pocket watch dangled from Konan's grasp.

"I am Ame No Konan, the Blue Rose Alchemist. You think killing children is your God's judgment? Then I'll show you the true wrath of God."

* * *

 **Scar is gonna have a bad time with the Akatsuki. Got to say I am rather pleased with how this turned out, bits and pieces of the dialogue was taken from different versions of the show (dub, subbed and manga) and it was fun weaving in the Akatsuki during this bit. Also Hidan and Deidara being the ones to realize all of this crap has left me highly amused.**

 **Even though it was mentioned that Nina would not be able to turn back into her original form, I could imagine that it's only due to the laws of physics and also because Shou was inadequate at making chimeras (I mean, look at Greed's gang). Since Sasori is skilled in anatomy, poisons, and most likely medical ninjutsu, I thought that it would make sense for him to have the skill to be able to reverse the effects… but of course, Scar got there first. Needless to say, the Akatsuki are getting really sick and tired of the bullshit this world has.**

 **Next chapter has the Akatsuki fighting Scar and a couple of events afterwards.**

 **As always, reviews are loved and I will see you all in the next chapter.**

 **Bye!**


	5. Haunting pasts

**Hi guys! Just a heads up, in the next couple weeks I should have a standard update schedule. I'm adjusting into summer break and my main fanfic is about to be finished. Once things are settled I'll hopefully have weekly updates.**

 **Thank you guys for the fave, follows and reviews! I really appreciate the support!**

 **Yumi: Sadly for Scar, he didn't know about the Akatsuki, so he has a handful of pissed off shinobi after his ass. Also don't apologize, whatever helps you in reviewing! :D**

 **Greggreg: Balance is currently the least of my worries since the Akatsuki are limited to chakra while Alchemist have almost unlimited uses of their abilities. But this fic is more of "Hey! Super powerful shinobi break the laws of physics!" than a "Okay, let's make sure the shinobi don't kill the main characters." Kind of deal lol. But don't worry, I know when to have the Akatsuki show weakeness.**

 **Greet123: Indeed, anyone would be upset at what happened.**

 **Canon: You seem to be forgetting that Itachi is a pacifist and Konan and Nagato originally created the Akatsuki to promote peace and end war. Not to mention children symbolize everything Konan wants for her world. Sure, generally speaking Sasori and Hidan really could not give a monkey's rear-end about killing people; but there is so little information about how they act that I am adding personalities to them. If I keep the characters EXACTLY how they are portrayed in the show, then everyone but Itachi and Deidara would be flatter than a piece of paper. This is a crossover fanfiction and I am taking creative liberties with their personalities and how they handle the unique situation at hand. If you don't like it, well, no one is forcing you to read. Just stating the facts! :D**

 **Warning: Language, violence, religious conflicts (pretty heavy in this chapter), OOCness, you get the picture.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.**

* * *

"Miss Konan?!" Al stared at the woman, a wave of relief washed over him as he understood that Konan was there to protect his brother. His brother would be safe!

"You understand God's judgement and yet you are an alchemist? Don't fill me with your lies. Alchemists alter the original form of matter, defiling the teaching of God, the creator of all." Scar crouched down before charging at Konan, hand aiming for her head. Only, he didn't get to hit her, Hidan stood in her place and got hit instead. He fell to the ground with blood pouring out his face, some of it landing on his attacker. Scar didn't care, this albino was collateral damage like all the other soldiers he's killed.

What he should be caring about, was the mass amount of paper that were swarming him. Chakra protecting Konan from the rain, just like how Jiraiya taught her when she was small. This rain wasn't Pein's, it was just mother nature fitting the mood.

"You killed a child. An innocent little girl caught up in her father's desires, why kill her?" Konan shut down all her emotions at this point, only to note through Scar's sunglasses that his eyes morphed into confusion.

"You don't know what the military does to chimeras? She would have been experimented on, tortured until death finally succumbed to her. I gave her a quick death."

"The funny thing is, I would have been able to reverse the damage." Scar snapped his head behind him and barely dodged a cable shooting out from the coat of Sasori. The Elric brothers noted that not only was this the first time Sasori has been involved, but that a purple liquid was dripping from the cable, "But now I have to deal with the fact I kept her waiting long enough for her to die. I don't like waiting… or keeping others waiting… now I have my reputation tarnished because of you. You'll make a fine puppet."

Scar couldn't believe what he was hearing. Puppet? Was the redhead an underground alchemist? Or was he just insane? Why was the blond pouting at the declaration of turning him into a puppet? And why did the albino mov- wait, he's moving?!

"The fucker must have shown up almost as soon as we all left. Son of a bitch, that hand of his hurts…" Now Scar was close to having a heart attack when Hidan rose up, as if that wasn't a fatal attack, "Alright, everyone who is not immortal stay the fuck away from his hands!"

"You're immortal? Noted."

Now everyone turned to the voice to see at least a dozen soldiers, Riza Hawkeye, Louis Armstrong and Roy Mustang. The colonel smugly adjusted his glove with a slight tilt of his head. If anyone else was there, they would have thought it was a cool pose. But it didn't fit the mood and the rain, not to mention shinobi could not care less about gloves.

Scar took a step back, the Flame Alchemist, Strong Arm Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist and… this Blue Rose Alchemist. Four alchemists, a dozen soldiers, and four men that seem loyal only to the woman… one of them is immuned to his deconstruction. The odds were definitely not in his favor.

Deciding to focus on Roy, Scar ran towards him while Roy prepared to snap his fingers. The whole thing was comically shot down by Riza, as the woman did a low-sweep to Roy's legs and literally shot at Scar's face.

"What was that for Lieutenant?!" Now Roy's back was completely soaked because he landed in a puddle.

"With all due respect, you are completely useless in the rain, sir." Insert arrow stabbing Roy's pride riiiiiiiggghhhhhtttt- there.

"Fire style: Great Fireball jutsu!" Everyone's mouth hanged wide open as a massive ball of fire erupted from Itachi's mouth towards Scar. Another arrow stabbed Roy's pride, some kid he's never met was able to produce fire in the rain, and from his mouth too! But… oddly enough, Roy didn't see any kind of alchemist tattoo on his tongue which peaked his interest of the bunch. Of course, Scar got away by creating a massive hole in the street, but not before everyone could see the red of his eyes, revealing his Ishvalan heritage for the world to see.

Konan didn't care why this was a big deal or why all of Amestris military froze in place, she wasn't done with Scar, and she left a little present on his person, "Stay with the brothers." She didn't bother looking at the Akatsuki before turning into paper and vanishing into the hole Scar made.

Roy lightly jogged to the Akatsuki, "Are you sure it's alright for her to go on her own? Scar has kille-" He paused with an audible gulp when a three bladed scythe was held to his face. It was only the blunt end, but the message was received.

"If she gave us the orders to stay with the fucking brothers, then we will stay with the fucking brothers." Hidan rubbed his face in irritation, having blood in one's eyes is never a pleasant experience. His sleeve wasn't helping, so the rain will have to be a substitute, "Fucking hell… whatever that technique of his was, it hurts…"

Roy tilted his head in curiosity to the Jashinist, "You mentioned being immortal, what was that about? Scar should have killed you when he placed his hand on your face…" But all he received was the cold shoulder from the group of men, honestly, they were so disrespectful to someone of his ranking, "Fine, whatever. I'm expecting to learn about all this when you guys stop being secretive." He had a funny feeling he's gonna need a lot of booze to loosen most of these tongues.

"Oh hey, is the fight over?" And Roy's attention was now focused on Hughes, who had stayed hidden the entire fight, "Hey don't give me that look! A person like me shouldn't get involved in a fight full of pseudo-humans! That's bad for my health and I like living!" Trying to break the focus on him, Hughes began ordering soldiers around to clear things up.

Recounting his days as an ANBU captain, Itachi was not impressed with the organization of this military. Even as a child he had seen coordination and training that were better than these soldiers… that Riza woman though, she's a sharp-shooter, if she had the sharingan she would never miss her targets. Looking over to Ed while the military acted like buffoons, watching as the young alchemist ran to his broken brother in worry, trying to get him to talk.

"Al? Talk to me, are you alright? Al? Al?" Everyone tensed when Alphonse suddenly punched his brother in the face, sending Ed backwards in an almost comical fashion. Itachi could have sworn the entire style of Ed's body changed to be simplistic during the punch.

"Why didn't you run away when I told you to?! What kind of idiot are you?!"

"No way! I'm not going to run away and leave you behind! What kind of brother leaves his sibling behind at the hands of a maniac?!"

"Which is exactly why you're an idiot!" Rage emanated from the armor's very fists as he drove another punch to his brother. How is the kid still alive?

"Why do you keep punching me? If I had run away you could have been killed, you know that?"

"Maybe I wouldn't have been! But making the decision to die is something an idiot would make!"

"Hey watch it! I'm still your older brother!"

"I'll say it all I want to!" Al grabs Ed by the shirt, yanking his older brother's face closer to his, "Survival is the only answer. You're the only one who can restore us to our original bodies. You have to live on, learn more about alchemy. You can help so many lives, lives like Nina if you did! I won't allow you to die a meaningless death!" As if the world had perfect timing, Al's arm broke off and fell to the ground with a series of clangs.

"OH GREAT! And now my arms come off because my brother's a big, fat, idiot!"

Itachi sunk his head into his collar to hide his smile from his teammates, their relationship was ideal in his eyes. It was so much like him and Shisui if anything... not like him and Sasuke. No, not even close. He's choosing the "idiot" route for his little brother… dying an early death to protect him and let him return home a hero and full of honor.

But still… watching these boys might make him start to rethink his choices up until now… might.

Riza covered Ed up with her coat and the officers worked to collected Al's pieces up. They're going to be escorted to Mustang's office so reports could be made. The Akatsuki remained by the hole. Maes Hughes stayed with them just in case he was needed, in reality he was really hoping he wasn't needed.

"So… any weird stuff I should know about you guys? Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes." He stuck out his arm to shake someone's hand, but was greeted with four pairs of blank eyes, "Uhhh… heheh… not the friendly type huh?"

"We're keeping information about us to the bare minimum. If you want our names you'll have to learn through the Elric brothers." Itachi reached out and gave the man a handshake, "Just refer to us by our hair color until then."

"Speak for yourself." Deidara glared sideways to the Uchiha, offended that he even suggested something for him before looking at Maes, "To make it easy, call me Dei. I don't think calling me blond will solve anything while we travel with those kids, un."

"'Day'?"

Oh boy, language barriers, "...Close enough, un."

Humming with contemptment, Maes pulls out some photographs to show to Itachi, "You seem like the fatherly type, check out my wife Gracia and our adorable daughter Elicia! Aren't they precious?" The Lieutenant Colonel prefered to ignore the snickering from the immature members of the group. He's use to it by now and as long as he got to show of his darling wife and daughter he was happy.

Itachi looked at the pictures blankly, was this world in such peace that a soldier could show off photos of their family safely? Not even shinobi flaunt their family unless they were part of a clan. But then again… this man gave off vibes that were similar to Uzumaki Naruto… might as well humor him while they waited for Konan.

"Your daughter looks like your wife."

Apparently those were the correct words, because the Lieutenant Colonel began pulling out even more photos of his daughter to show off.

 _With Konan_

The sewers were dark, but shinobi didn't need light to see. Konan kept to her paper form to avoid getting her shoes soiled by the floors and walls, using her chakra to find Scar. Lucky her, it didn't take long to find him.

At the sound of rustling paper, Scar looked over his shoulder and watched at Konan took on a semi-human shape, floating in the air without legs, "You're a chimera?"

Konan's eyes hardened, "No. My parents were human, I myself am human. This is a technique I was taught as a child by my teacher."

Scar frowned at the idea of picturing this woman as a human, she was a state alchemist and his enemy, "It's alchemy, an insult to God. You alchemists, dogs of the military, have turned your back on Him and His teachings."

"You misunderstand me, I am not from this land and I worship a different god." The lies rolled off her tongue easily, the closest thing to a god in her life is the man who made her an angel, "Am I to be blamed for not sharing your faith?"

Scar's mind pieced together the facts laid in front of him. She's only been talking about the murder of the chimera child and him attacking the Fullmetal alchemist, she didn't even show a reaction when he tried to kill her teammate, "You are new to alchemy… and your techniques are not like the militaries. Is your anger channeled through the death of the chimera?"

"Her name is Nina. But yes, you are correct." Konan lifted her hand to stare at her palm, regret rang through that monotone voice of hers, "I should have taken her to Sasori myself…"

Scar had to put a face to that name for a moment. Sasori… the redhead, "Even if he could reverse it, she would have been put under extreme torture and experimentations, would you really allow that to happen?"

Not once did Konan's emotionless mask betray her, "My comrades and I will only be around for a year, and I would have taken her with us… would you have killed her even if we reversed the damage?"

Scar's jawline tightened, "The teaching of God denies the good in alchemy-"

Not only did Scar's answer broke Konan's patience, but her mask as well.

"Your god agrees to the murdering of children?" Paper fluttered around Scar, encasing him in a cocoon. Every time he deconstructed some, more would take their place, "I'm honestly not mad that you killed Nina, I can see your perspective. You didn't know that we could have helped her… but Edward and Alphonse… they are children and are no threat to you, you're life was not in danger by them existing."

"The Fullmetal Alchemist is a dog of the military, the same military that started a war on my people. Men, women, elderly and children alike slaughtered by alchemists and guns. Anyone who works for them is as evil as the art itself."

The mask was back on her face, "A war?" She lets out a chuckle, head bowed and slowly shaking it from side to side, "So… that's why you're killing... My own country was caught between two sides and our homeland became a battleground. I watched my parents die. The boy I loved killed himself to not only keep me alive, but to pass his legacy to our best friend. We killed the leader of our land, took it over, kept our people safe. We kill and children are raised to be soldiers, but that is how our culture works… it is how we are taught to live."

Konan turned her body to normal, and Scar watched in awe as she walked on top of the water.

"We do not use a god to justify our killing, that's Hidan's philosophy and we allow him to practice his religion so long as he fulfills the Akatsuki's quota. We are not the good guys, I have killed plenty myself. If this is truly to pass judgement on others… then I pity your mission. But if you can look at people like Edward, a boy who never took part in your war, and your god tells you to kill him because of what he practices in order to survive…" Her hand shot out, grabbing Scar by the throat, lifting the larger, cocooned man into the air, "Then you need a new god."

For the first time since the Ishvalan war… Scar felt fear run through his veins. Her techniques were not alchemy, alchemy shouldn't allow others to walk on top of water and create a limitless amount of paper. Deciding that it would be better to flee, Scar grabbed her hand and used his deconstruction on it. As expected, she turned into paper and he fled into the darkness. Once he could no longer see her anymore, he began to relax, only to hear paper rustle on his shoulder. Without hesitation he grabbed the paper and destroyed the origami butterfly in his hand, cutting off her ability to find him.

 _Back with the Akatsuki_

The four men stood at attention when Konan returned, she was exhausted and looked to be close to collapsing and would have if her pride demanded otherwise.

Hughes offered his support to her, but she waved him off, "So, how did it go?" It's obvious what the answer would be, but if he wanted to make a nice, long report at the grief of his best friend, then he needs a verbal response from Konan.

Rolling her right shoulder, Konan brushed her bangs back to their normal position as the rain messed up her hair, "He got away… where is Colonel Mustang? I have some questions that need answered." Hughes agreed to take them to Roy, not like he could argue in the first place, but his pride was hurt slightly when she accepted assistance from the black haired boy and not him.

Mumbling to himself in self-pity, Hughes lead the Akatsuki to Roy's office where he was explaining the Ishvalan war to the Elric brothers, the whole truth laid bare to the shinobi. Scar was just using his god as a cover story for his revenge, but even they could see how illogical and stupid it was to target Ed; he had nothing to do with the war.

Roy's eyes casted themselves to the new arrivals, "I take you five will help us in taking that maniac down?"

Deidara snorted at the term, "Sure, I'd love to see how his abilities can handle my art, un." He chose not to correct Roy's definition as to who qualifies as a maniac. Considering the albino standing next to him counts as the embodiment of evil in many eyes, he has to wonder how these people would react to seeing this group using their full power.

Oh if only Konan gave the orders.

Hughes took a seat by the brothers, "Well Ed, Alphonse, what are you two going to do now?"

Ed paused, before slowly lifting his head, "We keep moving forward, there's no reason to stand still while we are still alive." He pats Al's covered shoulder, "But first, we need to pay a visit to our mechanic!"

It took everyone a moment to realize that not long after entering the room, Konan fell into unconsciousness from stress and chakra usage. Itachi's shoulder being the only thing keeping her standing.

Despite the shock of the day, the brothers wasted no time getting on the train that same day. Konan was still unconscious when everyone boarded the train, the shinobi taking seats nearby Armstrong and Ed. Ed was fussing over not only the fact that the Major was with them, but Al was with the sheeps. It was agreed by the shinobi that Konan would rest, using Itachi's leg as a pillow as the train's seats were wooden, while Deidara, Hidan and Sasori easily squish together on the seats across.

Armstrong looked over to them, "Will she be alright?" He was concerned that the work of a state alchemist may begin taxing her health, if all of the events today reflected anything. He observed how the woman slept in a childlike pose: on her side, legs slightly bent and her hands resting by her head on her comrade's leg. She seemed almost innocent despite her performance during her alchemist exam and going for the blood of Scar.

Despite what he's heard from Mustang, Armstrong didn't see much of a need to be worried about the five. It was obvious that they follow Konan's orders, and seem to mind themselves when she is incapacitated, with obvious reluctance from the albino one. But, orders were orders and he would report anything suspicious about the group to Mustang if need be.

Sasori looked up from his book and to Armstrong, "She used up too much…" He mentally grasped for the proper words, "energy. She should be awake by the time we reach our targeted destination."

The train ride fell into silence with everyone but Armstrong, Sasori and Itachi falling asleep. Sasori had the unfortunate situation of being used as a armrest for Deidara's pillow, aka his arm, as long as the brat didn't drool on him, he didn't care. Hidan used the window as a headrest.

 _The next day_

Everyone woke up when the train stopped at a small country town, giving the group at least a couple hours of freetime before the journey to Resempool continued on another train. But Armstrong caught sight of Tim Marcoh, a state alchemist who was skilled in bio alchemy, catching Ed's attention and sending the pipsqueak after him.

Itachi looked to the artist duo, "I'll stay with Konan and transfer her to the station to continue sleeping. You two follow them and learn some information. Hidan-" And the Jashinist was back to snoring away, "Lovely, I'll have to wake him up... Sasori, would you get some food from this town's market since Hidan would rather sleep?"

Nudging the groggy teen off of him, Sasori got up with a nod, "We'll bring some when we return with the alchemists." Grabbing the half-awakened Deidara by the collar, the two proceed to follow Ed and Armstrong -who was effortlessly carrying Alphonse's crate- while also picking up some food in the process. After asking numerous people, they finally came across Marcoh's house and Ed was nearly shot by a panicked doctor.

The artists were now wondering, why did everyone in this damn country have a shoot first, ask later policy?

"Di- did you come here to take me back?! Well I won't! Anything but that! I refuse to return to the military!"

Armstrong held his free hand to try and calm the situation down, motioning Deidara and Sasori to take a step away, "That's not it, please listen..."

"So you're here to silence me then?! I won't let yo-"

Out of pure, rational, logical thinking... Armstrong threw Al on Marcoh, "I'll ask you one last time, please calm down!" Ed went into mother hen mode over his brother.

Deidara leaned closer to his partner to whisper, "Quirky bunch we're following, huh?"

"Almost makes our group seem normal by comparison…" If Sasori had the glans he would have sweatdropped at the display, but he agreed with his partner that this world was full of interesting characters.

The two watched as Ed and Armstrong talked with Marcoh, each one labeling the man in their head with various terms. Broken, regretful, ashamed, intelligent, but something was missing in their list and it was momentarily forgotten when the old man pulled out a small vial revealing a red liquid.

Opening the vial at the confusion of Ed, Marcoh slowly poured the liquid to the table. Instead of spreading out like water or blood, it piled together in a single mass, taking on the same of a smooth stone while also keeping it's liquid like properties. It was nothing like the Artist Duo had ever seen before. Nothing should stay like this without some form of chakra control, yet this blood red object was being poked and prodded and keeping its shape in the process.

"After what I saw that phony priest could do with an incomplete philosopher's stone… who can say what a complete one would do…" Ed slammed his hand on the table, "Please Dr. Marcoh, I need access to your research notes!"

Sasori noted many changes in Marcoh's demeanor. The way his rough hands clenched, the tightened jaw line, and the bead of sweat rolling down the back of his neck and vanishing under his buttoned-up shirt. If he listened carefully, he could hear the old man's heart racing. A new word was added to the list to describe Marcoh.

He was afraid.

Interested in what his partner had to say, Sasori tilted his head towards the blond, "Deidara, what are your thoughts- brat?" This was new.

Deidara's visible eye was transfixed on the red liquid blob as Marcoh called the object a creation of evil. A level of calculating intelligence could be seen behind that blue orb as it followed the Philosopher's stone back into the vial and soon back into Marcoh's breast pocket. How interesting, this is one of the few times Sasori has seen this teen think about anything besides his explosions and Itachi.

… That… did not come out right in Sasori's mind.

Even after telling Marcoh their story, he still denied the boys access to his research notes, or even how to make their own stone. In defeat, the three alchemist got up to leave and once they reached the door, Deidara suddenly bursted in a manic-like laughter. The sudden change in mood startled everyone in the room enough to where Marcoh instinctively reached for his gun and had to stop himself.

Ed turned his attention to Sasori, "Is he okay…?" Worry consumed the boy's voice as the older blond was keeled over in his fit of giggles.

Sasori took one look at his partner, "He'll catch up soon. Don't keep us waiting brat." With a "follow me" gesture to Armstrong and Ed, he lead them away, leaving Deidara alone with Marcoh.

"Y-Young man, are you alright?" Frankly Marcoh thinks the lad before him had lost his senses. But as a doctor, he chose to keep his opinions to himself.

With long gasping breaths, Deidara threw his head back to give out one last chuckle, "Oh man, those brothers are dense despite one of them being a genius, un."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Pardon not accepted, old man." Suddenly Marcoh was not looking at the face of a lively teen, but rather the face of someone who has spilt blood, "The main thing to make those stone things are humans, un."

Time stood still for the elder. His throat drying up with each passing second, "How…"

Deidara let out a snort and rolled his visible eye, "Please. You helped in a war bent on wiping out the existence of an entire race. You specialize in biological like alchemy and," He paused and motions to the door, "you refused to tell those boys. It doesn't help those Philo-whatchamacallit, are the same color as blood, un."

Marcoh couldn't move, let alone breathe as Deidara walked towards him, "Y-you…"

"Don't act surprised, you guys are not very good at subtly. Frankly, the fact you even made things like these makes me sick. Life's meant to be fleeting, and not only did you make something that can extend life… but in the process you have damned… what? Hundreds? Thousands, of lives to be trapped within the confines of those stone… forever? Even my comrade makes sure to give his victims the luxury of death before transforming their bodies into his weapons. You," Deidara places his hands on his hips and lets out another laugh, "you cursed them into eternal suffering, un."

Realizing that this may be too much for the old man, Deidara placed one hand over his sternum, "Listen, I'm the last person who you should be hearing this all from… but Ed and Al are good kids. ACTUAL good kids that do stupid things to help random strangers. Instead of letting them do something stupid like trying to make the stones themselves, push them in the right direction, let them learn the truth then see what they do from then, un."

Without another word, Deidara left the building for the man to think for himself.

Shortly after the bomber made it to the station, not only was the train just arriving, but Marcoh was on his tail. The old man gave Ed a piece of paper and some clues on how to find his research, then left without explaining any further than that.

Not understanding what that was about, Itachi received looks from Deidara and Sasori to indicate an explanation later. Nodding slightly at the gesture, he carefully picked up the still sleeping woman and was soon on the train, quietly enjoyed his food.

None of them knew that after Marcoh returned home, he was taken away by the Homunculus.

* * *

 **This was interesting to write to say the least, I love Scar and I had to write it in a way to make sure I didn't accidentally kill him. I think I did a pretty good job of doing that.**

 **This is basically how I'm going to occasionally separate the Akatsuki. Someone wanders off to explore or, like with Konan, pass out from exhaustion and overuse of chakra. However, they will mostly stick together for their safety until later in the plot. Still working out all of the kinks but it's a work in progress.**

 **Next week will be Winry meeting the Akatsuki! She's going to help reveal one of the Akatsuki's secrets.**

 **As always, reviews are loved and I will see you all later!**

 **Bye!**


	6. Blending in

**This chapter was a little harder for me to type out, I'm mildly burnt out from finishing my other fanfiction but I was able to put everything I wanted in this chapter. Hopefully in a few weeks I'm able to do weekly updates, right now it's still going to be every other week just to be safe. Rather not get writers block from forcing myself to write.**

 **Also to all of my new readers (and my old ones of course), there is a side story/omake at the end. These are random events that happen off screen in the chapter that I didn't want to take up time in the main story, so they get put in the bottom as extra reading. Most of them will be on the comical side or just randomness.**

 **Thank you so much for the faves, follows and reviews! I really appreciate the support!**

 **Greer123: Well Deidara is a genius in his own right, not everyday a child is trained by a kage.**

 **Greggreg: Right now, while I'm going to try and balance things out later, Konan is technically the "main character" in this fic. I'll have things focus on the other Akatsuki and have them split up to do things as time goes on.**

 **Hartman227: If you want to catch up and follow along with the story, we're not even 10 episodes in. I think this chapter covers the later half of episode 6 of FMAB. It's an amazing show that I highly recommend giving a chance. Glad that you're willing to take a look! :D**

 **Warning: Language, mundane tasks like shopping, I would like to mention that Sasori will refer to anyone younger than him as a "brat", OOCness (I'll stop using this warning at around chapter 8, it should be obvious by that point).**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or FMAB**

* * *

Konan woke up with a soft gasp when her mind couldn't take the dreams anymore. Blinking away sleep, two things were registered from her senses. The first thing was the fact that three of her men were staring at her, two owlishly and the other blankly as normal… and the second thing was that her head was on someone's leg.

"Konan, you're awake?" A hand cautiously laid itself on her shoulder, helping her into a sitting position. Turning her head to the right, she locked eyes with Itachi, "You've been asleep for almost two days. We're on a train heading to a place called Resembool, to meet Edward's mechanic."

"Mecha-" Konan grimaced at the crack in her voice. Her face also felt somewhat grimy. This was not an ideal situation to find herself in.

Hidan was the first to notice Konan's discomfort and to bring it up, "There's a washroom in the cart over. Careful though, whoever fucking designed this had the shitter and the sink in the same fucking room." He perked up at the sound a few of mothers gasping, "Aw come on you broads, your little brats are gonna learn eventually! Dumbasses…" The Jashinist rolled his eyes when their idea of ignoring Hidan was to talk about him in hushed whispers.

With a relieved sigh that things seem to be back to normal, Konan stood from her seat, cautiously placing chakra on her feet to keep herself steady on the train. Leaving the booth, she gave Ed and Armstrong waves of acknowledgment before looking for the washroom. Thankfully, it was empty, and with no one in sight to bother her, Konan closed and locked the door behind her.

It was tiny, Kisame would barely be able to fit in such a small container. Despite its otherwise clean dark wood walls and flooring, the fact the sink was barely a foot away from the toilet made Konan question the logistics of the hygienes of this world. What other questionable practices do the people here participate in? God forbid she learns how they bathe. But, she was a shinobi, as long as the water was clean she had no reason to complain. But even so… the last thing Konan needed was herself or her men getting sick.

"Alright…" Reaching up to her bun, Konan undid her hair and soon pulled it all back into a temporary loose pony, "Might as well clean up…" After removing her piercing, she splashed some of the water on her face, making sure to completely remove her eye makeup and do her best to wash off any sweat and grime her pores held. Satisfied with the slightly reddening face staring back at her in the mirror, she pulled out her makeup kit from within her cloak and began redoing her eyes.

 _Back with everyone else_

Sasori leaned to the side slightly to gain the attention of Ed, "What exactly does your mechanic do?" Depending on their craft, he may observe how these automail work. While using so much iron and other metals would be a waste, it would never hurt to learn how they work with the human nervous system.

Ed paused, placing a hand to his chin, "Well she's… she's…" Before he could give the impatient puppet master an answer, the train stopped with a sharp jerk. Ed barely responded to the force, but Hidan flew forward due to not being prepared. Sasori kept Deidara still with chakra string and Itachi was facing in the same direction as Ed and Armstrong.

"That's it! I'm getting off this fucking hunk of metal!" Hidan pushed himself up from his spot and stormed out the door, effortlessly shoving some people out of the way.

Ed felt a sweatdrop form, "Is he always this pissed off about things?"

"Indeed, but he is holding himself back under my orders." Ed jumped a foot in the air when Konan appeared behind him, "Congratulation Ed, you nearly met my height." The usually stoic face of the blue haired woman had the faintest smirk on it.

"Don't call me little!" Ed lunged for Konan but was easily held back by Armstrong.

"Now now, Edward Elric. A gentleman does not tackle a lady." Holding the shorter male like a child does a puppy, Armstrong motioned to the door towards Konan, "Ladies first."

Konan made no comment as she stepped off the train and stood by a fuming Hidan. The other Akatsuki soon gathered around her in their self-proclaimed formation.

Hidan raised an eyebrow, "How the fuck did you get your makeup done when that thing lunged everyone forward? Your face should have slammed into the mirror."

"A woman never reveals her secrets." In reality, she just had chakra keep her stuck to the floor when she heard the whistle… but he didn't need to know that.

The moment Armstrong regrouped with everyone with Al on his shoulder, they followed Ed down a country road, the only indication of civilization is a worn out stone wall. At the end of the path, the Akatsuki spots a small, old woman and a dog with a metallic leg waiting for them by a house. Based on the casual greetings the brothers share with her, there must be a strong connection.

Pinako looked to the Akatsuki with a calculating gaze, "So Ed, who are your friends that you brought? I must say, the more people you bring, the more I'm reminded that you've shrunk."

Suddenly the whole world became more simplified as Ed glowered at the smaller woman with gritted teeth, "Granny, I'm pretty sure you're supposed to tell me that I've gotten taller. After all, I am growing."

"Why am I supposed to lie?"

Before Ed could burst into anger like usual, a wrench flies out of nowhere and slams into his forehead, knocking him to the ground. Deidara clapped as he slowly went to the tool and picked it up, "Whoever did that has a good arm, this weighs twice as much as a kunai, un…"

"Ed! How many times do I have to tell you to call me when you're on your way?!"

"Shut up! Are you trying to kill me or something?!"

A gleeful laughter made the shinobi look up at the balcony. There was a girl, most likely in her teens with long blond hair and large blue eyes. Not much to note about her in their opinion, though a few of them were mildly wondering why she was wearing what looked like a strapless sports bra and yet this is apparently the mechanic? Does she not work with material that could harm her skin?

Winry paused in her wave when she finally noticed the Akatsuki, "Huh…?" Struggling to remove her eyes from them, she ran down the stairs to greet everyone outside, "Ed… who are they?"

Itachi let out a sigh that could radiate a "where we go again" tone before replacing his aura with his calm, Uchiha aura, "We are the Akatsuki, we're a mercenary group." Shifting his eyes to her waist, the Uchiha noted that the girl was actually wearing a full one-piece jumpsuit but she had the upper half tied up. Based on how hastily the knot was, this was a recent action and not something long-term.

"Mercenary?" Pinako gave Ed a hard look, "What do you need hired fighters for, Ed? What trouble have you've gotten yourself into?" Winry also began to look at the brothers with concern.

"It's not that! Konan here," Ed points helplessly at the woman, "Recently became a State Alchemist and they've been following us all week! Gah…" He rubbed his head in frustration, "It's a long story, but they're good…" He eyed Hidan who wasn't doing anything to try and hide his scythe, "Well, they follow her orders at least…"

Konan stepped forward and gave a slight bow, everyone but Hidan followed suit but with varying degrees with their dips, "We apologize for the inconvenience, we're not from Armestris and Ed here has been kind enough to allow us to travel with him. My men will mind themselves while we are here." There was a slight shift in her tone at the last sentence, and when she looked at the Akatsuki members she received four nodding heads.

Pinako tilted her head at this, "Hmmm… seems like you have your men under control, I can respect that. Though, I doubt we have the room for all of you."

"Do not worry about us, we will make do. In fact… is there a marketplace nearby?"

With a huff from her pipe, Pinako pointed down the hill, "You take the left path halfway down and keep going straight. If you get lost, the folk here are friendly to newcomers and will offer their help."

"Thank you." Giving the Rockbells another bow and giving the others a short wave, Konan made her way down the hill with her men in tow. The moment she sensed their eyes were off the organization, she burst into a run. Hidan and Deidara expressed their joy for finally running by cheering and beginning to race each other, but wisely never passing Konan.

About a hundred meters into the run, Konan leaped over the stone wall and landed in a crouch. Not even a second passed when the other four landing beside her, Hidan landing on his face.

"What the fu-" Hidan was silenced by Konan's hand slamming on top of his mouth, "Mmmmf! Mhmf!"

"Silence." The group stilled as a couple of farmers strolled past the shinobi's hiding place, "When we are in Central or any military-heavy city, I want us to be known… but in a quiet town like this, I want us to keep a low presence. To ensure this, our cloaks will be sealed, the same for any weapons not concealable."

Naturally, most of the Akatsuki saw no reason to protest… most of them.

Hidan jerked his head back, "There is no way I'm letting you hold onto my fucking scythe!"

With a sigh, Konan revealed the scroll Nagato had given her. Unraveling it presented several seals, one of which when opened had more sealing scrolls -though less powerful- and each member was given one.

"You will each be responsible for your own gear. Use these scrolls to seal away large weapons, scrolls and your cloaks."

Itachi examined his scroll, then after noticing that Konan had yet to remove her cloak, he pocketed the scroll, "So we will be doing some shopping?"

"Correct. Make sure the clothing you pick out is flexible enough for combat." Konan blinked as she could almost smell the unspoken question, "Fashion here seems to vary. If you have a shirt underneath your cloak, you do not need to worry about your outfit… but I do want everyone to select one coat. It appears the unspoken norm is two layers when in public."

With their orders laid out, the group made their way to the Resembool marketplace. Despite the small, quiet atmosphere it was haphazard with no pattern as to what the main form of trade was. Everything was sold, from farm products to material like… steel*? Looks like they'll have to study this world's economy more.

Finding the clothing store was simple enough, at least it wasn't hidden. The shop was well organized with the women's section on the right and the men's on the left with various mirrors scattered all over the place. Overall it was a typical clothing store from what they could see.

Konan went to the women's section and slowly removed her cloak, only to pause when Hidan shouted out, "Fuck! Leader really was hogging you all this time! OW!" A loud smack could be heard from the men's section. Turning her head over to them, she saw Deidara's arm in the air nearby Hidan's sharply bowed head.

Not wanting to be in the same section as Itachi, Deidara went to the teens' section with Sasori. Despite Sasori being twice his age, the two are similar in size with slight differences, "Danna, how are you going to wear most clothes, un?" The two have been partners since the bomber was almost 10 and as a result, Deidara has seen Sasori's true form before.

Sasori stared at his partner for a moment before twitching his head. Mechanical sounds emanated from his body, like clockworks being pushed into place. Without even checking the sizes, Sasori grabbed a handful of clothes and headed to the dressing room.

"Hey, Dei-chan! I think this will fit you!" Deidara turned around to have a bright pink, frilly dress with an ungodly amount of laces and bows sewn in strategic parts of the fabric being shoved in his face, "Fucking try it on!"

Deidara wasn't sure if he wanted to throw up at the dress, or the fact that it was actually his size, "There is no way in hell would I wear that ugly, unartistic monstrosity that I wouldn't even force Itachi into, un!" Throwing the dress across the store he crossed his arms at the Jashinist, "How the fuck do you know my size anyway?"

"Wait, that was actually your size? I was just eyeballing it there, fuck… I'm a fucking genius! Wait… how do you know your dress size?"

The young owner looked up at the rowdy group from her book. In all reality, she should make them leave, but it's a slow day with little business... and the dark-haired male that could rival Adonis* has already picked out some clothes, and it would be a shame to make him leave so quickly. As long as the store was still in one piece, she didn't care. Besides, this small town needed some excitement ever since the Elric brothers went on their travels.

"Brat, why haven't you picked out any clothes?" The duo looked to the dressing room where Sasori swung open the curtain. He chose a dark red button-up, a few shades darker than his hair and black slacks, his original pants draped over his arm, "If you expect me to wait for you to try something on, I'll pick it out for you."

"No way am I going to let you pick something out for me, Danna. You'll make me wear something not artistic, un!" Deidara paused and stared at Sasori's neck, "We'll need to find something to hide your neck…"

Sasori backed up into the dressing room to look at the mirror and spotted the noticeable line that connects his head to his body, "I'll speak with Konan about getting a choker. The high collared sweaters would get in the way of battle." His head snapped back towards his younger partner, "Clothes. Now. I'll be picking the jackets… I'll try to find one that… suits your explosives." He had to carefully pick out words that would prevent Deidara from going on a rant, but also not calling those pathetic noise-makers "art".

"Yeah yeah." Deidara nonchalantly waved Sasori off and headed back to the clothes, purposely bumping into Hidan's shoulder in a harmless manner. Flipping through the shirts, Deidara came across a shirt that may fit him, "This looks ni- ...ce…" In the corner of his eye, he spotted Itachi eyeballing the same shirt in another aisle. Hell would sooner freeze over before he picked something that would match the Uchiha, not when he finally had a say-so in his clothes. With a huff, Deidara grabbed a random black t-shirt and a dark blue long sleeve and vanished into a dressing room.

While the other guys were easily finding clothes that fit their style, Konan was having some other issues.

'Too small… not breathable… this fabric wouldn't work with my jutsu… too small… oh, this would- no, too small in the bust area… this is too big everywhere but the bust area…' With each swish of the clothing rack, Konan slowly began to lose her patience. She was expecting this when she began to notice the women in this world that were around her age. Many of them either wore clothing that was unsuitable for combat, or their body proportions were drastically different from a kunoichi body. Granted, she had no idea what Riza Hawkeye's size was because the Amestris military uniform is gender neutral, but those clothes were too heavy and useless. A part of her began to consider the possibility of buying fabric and using alchemy to make the clothes herself.

"Konan."

Konan turned her head to see Itachi walking to her, a handful of shirts, a black coat and a pair of slacks in his arms, "Is everyone ready?"

Itachi shook his head, a mildly amused smile barely crossed his face, "No. Sasori is and Deidara is almost finished with Sasori picking coats for the both of them, but Hidan is struggling to find a proper coat." He eyes all of the clothes in the women's section, "I'm guessing you are struggling to find something suitable to wear?"

"I would be lying if I said no. Most of the fabric is breathable but… it's obvious that few women, at least in this town, have professions that require them to have combat-ready bodies. If I'm wrong, then they're not as... endowed." Konan would never be able to have this conversation with the other Akatsuki members, maybe Sasori if he actually cared. But Itachi was mature enough to handle this topic despite being the second youngest.

Without a word of questioning or comment, Itachi stepped around the woman and resumed sifting through the rack. Occasionally, he would pull out a shirt that Konan had to admit would compliment her, but after eyeing her for a moment he would shove it back with its friends, "Konan… since you are playing the role of State Alchemist, why not wear the Akatsuki cloak?"

"What do you mean?"

"It seems that these alchemists have their own quirks to make them noticeable. Edward has his automail limbs and Alphonse, Mustang has his… charm… and Armstrong gives an imposing appearance despite being kind-hearted. You wish us to keep a low profile, but it would benefit us if you developed a reputation." Itachi cracked another smile when he pulled out another top, "Besides, these clothes are hideous, even the ones you were staring at would sooner fit a child rather than a mature woman."

Konan pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled, he had a point. She had the option to wear the cloak and have that be her public image… or keep looking and risk being stuck here for hours and not find anything… cloak it is.

"Very well, I'll keep the cloak on for the time being…" Konan raised an eyebrow, "You seem more relaxed."

Itachi stiffened and resumed his normal passive expression, "We are in a town that is harmless to us, I was letting my guard down."

The blue haired woman sighed, "Very well." She regrets mentioning that to him, but if he chooses to keep his guard up then that's his choice.

When the two left the women's section, Hidan was still looking at jackets and coats, "Damn, all of these are fucking ugly…" He waved to get the attention of the owner "Oi, do you have anything cooler?"

The owner lazily blinked at the vulgar man before sighing and going into the backroom. A few moments later, she returned holding a black leather jacket with a fur-trimmed hood, "How is this, sir?" The sir was laced with sarcasm.

"Fucking perfect!" Hidan snatched the jacket from the woman's hand and slipped it over the white t-shirt he had put on minutes prior*, "Oh yeah, this is my shit."

Konan walked over to the register and handed the owner the correct amount of money, "My apologies for the noise."

The other waved her hand, "Oh it's fine, I'm just glad to get rid of that thing." With the exchange made, the Akatsuki left the store. The owner was mildly disappointed that so many cute boys had to leave at once and had to let out a dreamy sigh, "Lucky lady…"

The group stayed in the marketplace for a few hours, browsing the wares and making the occasional purchase, including a choker to hide Sasori's neckline. But by the time the sky was turning orange they returned to the Rockbell's house.

Ed looked at them from the sofa, a blond eyebrow shooting up the sight, "Wow, if I didn't know any better I would have mistaken most of you for normal people."

Itachi adjusted the collar of his button-up, "That was the point. While Konan is a State Alchemist, we are not and it's best people do not stare at us."

Armstrong was instantly suspicious, but put on a face and nodded as if in approval, "A wise move, especially with…" He remembered that the Rockbells were still present, "You all being foreigners, it would draw less attention."

Ed shot Armstrong a grateful look before pushing himself up, "Well, since you're here we can eat!"

The Akatsuki scattered around the room after the food was served, except Sasori wasn't eating and was more interested in the automail around him. No one really bothered to ask about this; if none of the redhead's comrades were questioning it then they shouldn't either.

Of course, that didn't stop Winry from hearing something from Sasori.

Slowly excusing herself from the table, Winry headed over to him, "Um… Mr…?"

"Sasori."

"Sasori. Got it. I keep hearing a wooden sound from you… like a marionette, do you have some on you?" She didn't see anything on him besides a bag on his hip.

Sasori stared at the girl, contemplating the risks before raising his hand, "I craft prosthetics." Moving his wrist, that same sound emanates from where his joints should be. Almost instantly his arm was snatched by a squealing mechanic-nerd.

"That's amazing! I've never seen automail like this! You can't even tell it's wood!" It never registered in Winry's head that a prosthetic arm should not feel like skin. It also passed her that the other blond and the albino are snickering in the background, they always seemed giggly to her, "What's the material?"

Sasori paused, "The wood is my trade secret.. . but the inside is a carbon skeleton." He was only able to say this because of overhearing a few people talk about automail in the previous town. It did boost his pride as he watched the female brat admire his art. It's not like anyone needs to know that he's mostly hollow.

"Amazing… and you're so young…"

Ed chokes on his stew, "W-Winry, he's twice our age." He began pounding on his chest to get the pain out. Winry slowly released her hold and returned to the table, blushing out of embarrassment and began shoveling her food.

Itachi was the first to step in to help clean the dishes while everyone else began to get ready to retire. Deidara and Hidan ran outside to sleep on the roof, Itachi just vanished completely and Sasori went outside to work on a puppet. Konan was about to figure out where she would sleep when someone tugged on her sleeve.

"You can sleep in my room. I'm pulling an all-nighter so I won't be using it." Winry smiled brightly at the older woman, "I can also run a quick bath for you as well, I doubt Ed has stopped long enough for you to get clean."

Konan paused, not use to the offer, "That… would be wonderful, thank you, Miss. Rockbell."

"Call me Winry! Come on, I'll show you the bathroom." Konan followed Winry up the stairs and into a small bathroom. Once again, the toilet was nearby the sink and now a… oddly shaped tub, but she kept her comments to herself, "How hot do you like your water?"

Konan snapped out of her daze, "However warm you deem fit, Winry…" She gazed around the room as she heard the water fill the tub and noticed something was missing, "You don't wash before you bathe?"

Winry didn't look up from her task, "What do you mean?"

"Baths are more for soaking and the enjoyment of warm water… so we wash before getting in. Hot water is also a luxury and so most households share the same bath water."

Now Winry was looking at Konan with an odd look, "Sharing the same bath water?" Her nose scrunched up at the thought before pulling her thinking face out, "I guess it makes sense… I never thought about that… hang on." Flicking her hands dry, Winry ran out of the room and soon returned with a basin and cloth. Filling the bowl with water she sat it on the sink's rim, "I guess this is different from what you are used to, but it should at least help you clean up."

Konan let out a soft chuckle at her hostess' attempt at making her more comfortable, "Thank you, I appreciate the gesture." Slipping off her cloak and hanging it on a nearby hook, Konan reached for the zipper of her top and began to pull. The moment she made this movement, however, a soft gasp escaped Winry and the girl ran out in a hurry, "Hm… body shy. Cute."

She paid no mind to the cultural differences and proceed to enjoy her bath.

 _2 days later_

While the first half of the first day consisted of the Akatsuki trying to figure out what to do while in this town, there really wasn't much to keep them occupied. Sasori would quietly observe Winry or Pinako work on automail, Deidara was off doing who knows what, Hidan mostly slept and was lazy, and Itachi and Konan tried their hardest to avoid being questioned by Armstrong about their home.

The man -though friendly- was persistent in his hunt for knowledge about the Akatsuki. The questions seemed harmless to any civilian, but all it takes is a simple "what kind of holidays do you have?" could potentially lead to him learning more than needed. At the most, Armstrong would learn they're not actually from Xing. Things went from mildly annoying to alarming when he tried to question Deidara about the rings. With the highest levels of guilt, that question was the only time Itachi felt the need to use genjutsu on the muscular man to get the bomber away. After that, Deidara was kept out of the house when Sasori wasn't around.

Ed woke up in the middle of the second night randomly, having a strong desire for some water. Throwing off the sheets he slowly trudged out of the room, poking his head in Winry's workshop to still see Sasori sitting on the side watching her work. Has… he barely move this entire time? He could vaguely recall the redhead moving a few times, but that was only to check on Deidara and have a brief argument with the teen about art.

Shaking his head out of his daze, Ed walked down the stairs when he heard coughing in the downstairs bathroom, "Huh…?" Heading to the partially open door, he slowly pushed it aside only to pale in horror, "Itachi?"

Itachi was hunched over the sink, hand covering his mouth as small flakes of blood landed on his palm. There was a small bottle of pills innocently sitting on the sink's rim.

Ed rushed over to the older teen's side, "What's going on? You're coughing up blood! I'll go get some help." But before he could rush out, a hand grabbed the back of his shirt.

"Don't…" Itachi slowly reached for his bottle and popped open the cap with one hand, downing a pill, "Don't tell… anyone… not even the other Akatsuki members."

Ed stood there confused, "Why? They're your teammates, why don't they know you're ill? And why are you coughing up blood if you have medicine?"

Itachi let out a long sigh, pocketing the pills, "I cannot let others know, and I haven't had a moment to myself to take the medicine without risk of getting caught. As for why no one can know… I'm staying alive for something… and I can't die until…" He paused, "I'll need to use alchemy to make more of these…" Then he pats Ed's shoulder as he leaned down to the youngers height, "Treasure Alphonse, Edward. You must put him before anything else, even at the cost of your own life, that's what big brothers are for." With that, Itachi walked past Ed and vanished outside into the night.

Ed wasn't interested in looking for water anymore.

 _The 3rd day_

While everyone was watching Ed and Al spar with their newly made and repaired metalworks, Armstrong was on the phone.

"How much information were you able to find, Major Armstrong?"

Armstrong sighed, knowing that the person on the other side of the phone would be annoyed, "Not much, they're tightlipped about anything regarding their homeland. The two that would certainly talk were kept away from the house and in an unknown location… but I did learn some interesting things about the redhead, along with some suspicions."

Mustang, though irritated at first, perked up at this news, "Oh? What did you find?"

"Well, his name is Sasori and he's… not actually a child…" Armstrong paused, lightly rubbing his face, "He's either the same age as you or older…" There was a spraying sound on the other end of the line, Roy must have spat out his coffee, "But that's not the weirdest thing about him…"

Roy was practically fuming at the phone, "What's weirder than a full-grown man that could pass as a child?!" He paused and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Wait, no. That sounded wrong… just… just continue Major Armstrong."

"He has a prosthetic arm. From what I can tell, it's his entire arm, and he claims it's made of wood." All Armstrong received was silence. He didn't blame the colonel for going into minor shock. Sasori's hand is seamless and Winry even stated that it felt like real skin, "I think they may be hiding more than just a prosthetic arm, but I'm unable to find anything else."

Roy took all of this into consideration, "Keep this all to yourself, for the time being, report anything else to me if you find more information…" Setting down the phone, he chuckled to himself, "They may be my ticket to becoming the Fuhrer..."

* * *

 **Side story #1: The Akatsuki lose Konan**

"Come on, Danna! Be more artistic with your choices in accessories, un!" Deidara whined as his boring partner picked out a plain black velvet choker, "That's such a lame look."

"I could care less about fashion, I merely want to hide the lines until my true form is revealed." Sasori faced a small mirror and placed the choker around his neck, easily keeping it in place with a small amount of chakra that worked like glue, "You're the one that's not getting anything despite claiming I'm not being artistic."

"That's because everything here is boring, I need something that reflects my art, un!"

"Hey, fuckers! Where's the bitch?" The artist duo and a nearby Itachi stiffen up as they looked at Hidan, "I thought she was with us."

Deidara paled, "Oh man, leader is going to kill us if we can't find her, un!"

Hidan shrugged with a laugh, "Ha! As if he could fucking kill me- oh wait… he could make me wish I was dead… FUCK!" With two of the Akatsuki panicking and the other two trying to remain calm, the group began searching the marketplace. For some reason, it decided now to be busy! It was dead five minutes ago, where did all these people come from?

After five minutes of searching, Itachi went up to two men drinking what appeared to be beer, "Excuse me, gentlemen, I'm looking for a woman."

One of the men, a middle-aged fellow named Dave, took a long gulp of his drink before sighing sadly, "Aren't we all, kid?"

The poor Uchiha blinked in confusion, "I beg your pardon?"

"Ah, you're young, you'll find that dame somewhere in this vast ocean we call life. You just play it smart and use your looks to woo them into staying with you, ain't that right, Miles?" The man clinked cups with this said Miles laughing.

Miles joined in the laugh, "Look at him, lucky kid should have a woman on each shoulder begging for him!" Itachi wasn't sure if these men were drunk… or had fast mood swings, they were pure doom and gloom just moments ago.

Deidara rolled his eyes and shoved Itachi aside, "Stupid Uchiha… Look, we're looking for a woman with blue hair, orange eyes and wearing a black cloak with red clouds. She's our boss, un."

Almost instantly the joyful men went somber again and Dave spoke up, "Oh, her. She's near the bakery that way," He pointed down the road and grumbled as the group rushed away, "Lucky dame has four men after her heart..."

"Yeah, lucky fellas having such a fine woman to look for." Miles looked at his drink with a sigh, "How do those boys become so pretty? The blond one could pass for a woman if he has the chest for it…" Their mood worsens when they spot all of the women, married and unmarried, turning their heads towards the newcomers.

Lucky fellas indeed.

 _Meanwhile with the Akatsuki_

Hidan was the first to storm over to Konan, mildly fuming, "Why did you fucking walk off?"

Konan looked up at her men while eating a Berliner, "I said I was going to the bakery, you four were too busy shopping." Getting up and brushing herself off of any crumbs, she nodded in approval at Sasori, "Let's head back."

As they started heading back, Konan briefly noticed two tipsy men giving her men waves and hoots, but she ignored them in favor of returning to the Rockbell's as quickly as possible.

* * *

 **I dunno, I think the idea of the Akatsuki clothes shopping to be an amusing idea, not to mention most girls (and some guys too) can relate to Konan at that point. I also wanted the FMAB characters to slowly learn bits and pieces about the Akatsuki, it would be impossible to keep things a secret for long. Also, if you have never seen Konan without her cloak on, I suggest lookimg it up, she's really beautiful.**

*Considering Winry is able to create Ed's arm in three days and in the Japanese version (never seen it in dub) she mentions gathering material, it's safe to assume that Resembool has large trade.

*Adonis is the boyfriemd/lover of Aphrodite and is used to describe attractive men because he was believed to be one of the most beautiful in Ancient Greece.

* Hidan is dressed similar to how he looked before the Akatsuki, there's two versions and I am using the one that has him wear a shirt.

 **Next chapter will have everyone return to Central and I'll most likely include the 5th Labratory.**

 **As always, reviews are loved and I will see you guys in the next chapter.**

 **Bye!**


	7. Bloody Trail

**Woo boy, this one is a long chapter. Fun fact: The last third of the chapter is what got me to write this story. For reference, this chapter takes place during the timeline where Ed and Al study the philosopher stone and go to the 5th lab, but it's all offscreen. I want the Akatsuki to interact with the world but not necessarily be bound to the Elric brothers. The episodes are used to help me map out a timeline and give me a reference for how long they stay in one area.**

 **Thank you all for the faves, follows and reviews, I really appreciate the support.**

 **MidnaMoo: Hey hun, glad to see you reading this one too! :D Yeah, not too many people cross Naruto and Fullmetal, not sure why but I'm doing my best to make it work.**

 **Greggreg: Oh trust me, the Akatsuki are going to split up very soon.**

 **Greer123: Yeah, I wasn't sure if I should have Winry and Sasori get along, but considering both of them create things that were made to last, it worked.**

 **Drake G. Reaper: Hmmmm… Out of all of those Homunculus, only Pride would be the real problem since Father wouldn't be too pleased with the Akatsuki. Gluttony is too much of a softie (unless it concerns Lust), Sloth is underground and Greed… Greed is chill, the most he'd do is flirt with Konan relentlessly.**

" **Blah** "- Pride talking

 **Warning: violence, swearing (naturally, Hidan is in this fic), people getting their asses handed to them, oh and pray for Itachi… poor boy is gonna be uncomfortable later in this.**

 **Disclaimer: Still do not own Naruto or FMAB**

* * *

Ever since Armstrong had decided to poke his head into the Akatsuki's business, tension has sparked at each opportune moment.

"Keep Deidara away from military officials. Itachi is watching Hidan."

This was all Sasori needed to hear before keeping his partner within arms reach at all times on the train. While Konan sat with Armstrong and the Elric brothers, Itachi and Sasori sat on the edge side of their seats, creating a physical barrier between the loudmouths and the military. Of course, Hidan and Deidara didn't notice, they got window seats!

Armstrong nervously looked to the side only to see a pair of coal eyes and chocolate eyes staring him down. Wow, he really messed this up big time, "Um… Miss. Konan…" Despite being larger, the muscled man began to fidget nervously, something that did not go unnoticed by both the Akatsuki and the Elric brothers.

"Yes?" Konan gave him a side glance from staring out the window, neither her tone nor her body language screamed welcoming. The cold tone felt like a winter blast to the Major, and the slight glare in her face did not help either.

"My sincerest apologies for making you uncomfortable, it wasn't my intention. I was merely curious about you five and what Xing is like."

Konan hummed ever-so-slightly, "Curiosity?" Straightening herself, she stared into his eyes, "Major, you do not know much about us, that is a fact. But for the sake of this 'curiosity', I will tell you something the Elric brothers already know, we are mercenaries by trade. We're neither good nor bad… some are more of the latter than others. As a result… we keep our organization hidden, I am the second-in-command and until we are able to return home, I will keep my men safe."

Armstrong nodded, "Understandable… but…"

"We do not trust you, or the military. I joined for purely selfish reasons as I am sure many of you did, and at this moment we could care less about this country. So tell whoever ordered you to spy on us this: There may be a day where we will open up enough to tell them what they wish to know…" Konan looked back to the window to watch the trees zoom past her vision, "but until then, if you pry into our business, there will be consequences. Your leader should have told you all what we were capable of the day I became a State Alchemist." A thought came to her mind, "Or did he decide to keep that to himself?"

A shiver ran down Armstrong's spine, taking the threat to heart. Guilt slowly ate away at him as he let her words replay into his head. King Bradley... had something happen to him when he met the Akatsuki? But what exactly? Mustang will definitely be interested in hearing about this when they get to Central… but he couldn't shake off the feeling that Konan reminded him of someone… someone that he feared, but he couldn't put a finger to it.

After that exchange, the Akatsuki remained silent the entire train ride, except for Hidan's constant whining about Jashin. Alphonse tried to talk to some of the five, but after receiving a small smile from Konan and a shake of her head, he stuck to talking to Ed about what he wants to eat when he gets his body back.

With the screech of the breaks and the train stopping with its expected lunge -thankfully saving Hidan from having another bad day- everyone hopped off the train. Armstrong had to return to the main building but left Maria Ross and Denny Brosh to protect the brothers. The Akatsuki however… had someone else to watch them.

"Second Lieutenant Livius Dreyse*. I am under orders from the Fuhrer to escort you five around Central." That same blond, generic soldier from before saluted to the Akatsuki as he received three blank stares and two annoyed glares.

Deidara was the first to express his distaste, "Do we really need to have this guy following us? He's so unartistic, un." His hand twitched towards his clay pouch but didn't open it. Oh, if only Konan gave the orders, he could think of several ways to fix up that boring face.

Ed looked to the Akatsuki and gave them all a wave, "Well, we're going our separate way to research Dr. Marcoh's alchemy notes! We'll let you know if we find anything interesting!" Half of the Akatsuki returned the wave as the four left the area to go find the library Marcoh had told them to go to.

Hidan eyed the soldier and decided that if this asshole was going to follow them around, he might as well enjoy his time, "Do you have anyone I can sacrifice in this shithole of a city?" Naturally, he got the response that he wanted almost instantly.

Livius sputtered, "I- uh-" He coughed into his hand, "Excuse me?"

"Yeah, I haven't given a proper sacrifice to Lord Jashin since we were in that heathen town. So do you have a place that have people I can kill?" Hidan slammed a hand down on the smaller male's shoulder, "Come on, with a country this fucked up, I know you guys have prisons. Anyone that won't be missed?"

A bead of sweat formed on Livius' brow, "Um… do you have any kind of criminal in min-"

"I don't care if they killed someone or sneezed in your bastard Fuhrer's soup. Come on, Lord Jashin has been getting impatient!"

Certain that the albino was completely insane, Livius quickly removed himself from Hidan lead the Akatsuki to a decently sized military car and climbed in. It took him a moment to realize that none of the shinobi got inside the vehicle, "Come on, it's perfectly safe!" But still… no one made a move to get inside the car, "It's faster than walking~." Nope. Nothing.

Eventually, Konan went into the passenger seat but didn't buckle in her seatbelt, it would only prevent her from escaping… and wrinkle her outfit. Once the Akatsuki saw their commander was safe in the contraption, they all hopped in, granted it was a tight squeeze.

"I'll need to get permission from the higher-ups to let any of you enter the building since the only one here that has authority is the State Alchemist." In the corner of Livius' eye, he spots Konan flash her silver pocket watch.

"I want Hidan to be granted permission to enter by tomorrow. No later than that." Konan pocketed the watch after making her orders clear. Sure, she doesn't trust this country or this soldier for that matter. But she was his superior and for some reason, the military here take their ranks more seriously than the ones back in the Five Great Nations. Besides, Hidan had been complaining about not being able to preform his ritual half of the train ride and was giving her and the Akatsuki headaches.

"Yes, ma'am." The soldier drove the car to the hotel that was arranged for the Akatsuki to stay at, while also holding himself back from ripping the steering wheel off in rage, 'Stupid humans…'

 _The next day_

At 8 o'clock sharp, a knock on the door woke up the sleeping Jashinist. Hidan rolled off the sofa as he didn't want a bed and threw open the door, "The fuck do you wan-" He paused when two blue eyes stared at him in a slight glare, "Aw man…" He twisted his head to shout into the semi-empty space, "Hey! That asshole from the military is here!"

"Shut up Hidan, we heard you when you woke up, un!" A drowsy Deidara stepped out from one of the rooms, hair completely down and his cloak undone, "That and the damn Uchiha woke me up…" He looked over his shoulder to glare at Itachi, who was also exiting the same room. Of all of the Akatsuki members, why did he have to share a room with the Uchiha?

Itachi shrugged and went to the hotel room's kitchen to grab an apple, "I'm awake at 7 every day, you should train yourself to respond to your surroundings better." Taking a bite of the red fruit, he slipped on his sandals and opened the window, "I'm going to find the brothers and research alchemy."

Livius' eyes widened when he saw the Uchiha jump out the window, "Wait-!" He ran to stick his head out to see Itachi casually walk towards the sidewalk, still munching on his apple, "W-what the…"

Sasori eyed the soldier before returning his focus to a puppet arm he had been working on, "If something as simple as that shocked you… I fear how the country would react to us not holding ourselves back…"

Hidan snorted and slapped Livius on the back with enough force to cause the man to stumble, "They'd fall to the ground in fear! Shit, that would be awesome!" He then slowly waved his hand in pain, "Your back hurts, you wear metal under that monkey suit or something?"

Livius glared at the Jashinist before straightening himself out, "I received permission for you guys to enter a high-security prison, but only for an hour." He held up the permission form signed by Bradley, easily dodging the rhetorical question.

Hidan shrugged and picked up his scythe that was by the sofa, "That's all I need, anyone else coming with?"

Deidara was midway putting his hair up when he spoke, "I'll go. There's nothing else to do, un." He turned to Sasori, "What about you?"

"I'm staying here until Konan is awake." Sasori messed with the wrist of his puppet, "Just don't cause unwanted attention." He chose to ignore the snort that escaped his partner's nose.

With the two Akatsuki members in tow, Livius drove them to the prison nearby the Fifth Laboratory where a couple of guards were waiting for them, "Alright, the white-haired one will follow the guards to the execution room… you," He points to Deidara, "can wander around until your friend is done. I'll be sticking close by."

"Joy." Deidara rolled his eyes and began to walk away as Hidan followed the guards. Nothing really caught his eye when it came to the prison, the walls were bland and he couldn't see anything of interest because everyone was behind closed doors. Honestly, they could have at least made things interesting for him-

"Well, it's not every day a visitor shows up."

Deidara stopped mid-step at the sound of a voice ahead of him. Looking over, he sees a man with long black hair and a wooden plank for handcuffs being escorted by several heavily armed men. Tilting his head, he spots tattoos of transmutation circles on the man's palms, ones that he hasn't seen before. But then again, he hasn't exactly been studying the transmutations up until this point.

The man stopped in front of the teen, the guards tightened their hold on their weapons as a result, "It's rude to stare, kid. My name is Kimblee, and what is yours?" Kimblee gave Deidara a charming smile, letting his charismatic aura wave out. Which, unbeknownst to the former war vet, his charm might have better effects on a ten thousand year old brick wall, at least that has a chance to crumble.

"Deidara. What's an alchemist doing in prison, I thought you all worked for the military, un?" He glared at the guards who were staring at him like he was an idiot, "Excuse me, I'm not from this country, do you expect me to know this guy?" They instantly looked away, embarrassed at being called out by some kid.

Kimblee chuckled, "Ah, so the rumors were true. Well, I was imprisoned because I used my alchemy against military orders… in order to perfect the beauty of it."

One of the guards slammed a hand on the man's shoulders, "That's enough, Kimblee. You're going back to your cell this instant."

"Oh, there's no harm in me talking to this boy, he's merely curious about me. How did you get permission to enter this prison?"

Deidara jabbed a thumb towards Livius, "I'm one of the bodyguards for the Blue Rose Alchemist. We had this guy get me and a comrade of mine permission to spend one hour here. I'm studying alchemy with the others but," He shrugged nonchalantly, "I have yet to find what makes explosions."

Almost instantly the guards began to make Kimblee move, but the man smirked at Deidara, "Well well well," He kept his feet rooted to the spot, "it's simple, get two opposites to collide. But be careful, explosions are not for the faint of heart." The guards paused in their action, confused as to why Kimblee was warning the teen, "But is it beautiful… the sight, the destruction and fire spreading out, and the sound… oh, those precious seconds of that sound are pure music to my ears." he paused, looked at Deidara and soon his face broke into a wide grin, "I like that look, I'll be sure to remember you, Deidara." Letting his feet loosen, the guards quickly dragged him away.

Livius eyed Deidara for a moment, noticing the blond was trembling, "Sorry about him, that was the Crimson Lotus Alchemist. They were most likely relocating him to a new cell." He began to circle Deidara to face him, "Must have caught you off-guard-... huh?!"

"Finally…" Deidara was indeed trembling, but not from fear, "Finally, someone in this damn world understands what true art is!" But from pure, unmeasurable, joy, "A little warped, since it's the fleeting moment in itself that is beautiful… but I hope he gets released soon. I want to see his explosions against mine, un!"

Livius felt a bead of sweat form on his forehead. To him, Deidara was like a small child that just got told he could have whatever candy he could want at the store, sparkly eyes and everything. Either the Akatsuki were full of maniacs… or these humans were going to be his newest form of entertainment.

 _Meanwhile with Hidan_

The guards stood at attention when Hidan threw open the door, cloak oddly buttoned all the way up and a satisfied grin on his face, "Good luck cleaning that shit up!" Letting out a laugh, the Jashinist left them to go find Deidara. About five steps in, the guards heard the sound of liquid splashing against the flooring. Shifting their eyes down, bloody shoe prints lead their way to Hidan's feet as the man whistled an eerily happy tune.

"What was he talking about?" One of the guards poked his head into the room, and almost instantly wanted to throw up, "Oh god…"

His partner followed behind in confusion, "What?" All he had to do was inhale before he had to cover his mouth to stop a gag from forming, "That's not right…"

The room was covered in blood splatters, smeared handprints painted the walls as if the prisoner tried to escape his fate. The body was recognizable, but it was obviously dragged over to the center of the room, his blood used to cover some strange marking on the ground… an alchemy circle? They couldn't tell, but the body looked as if it was stabbed, multiple times at that. But… where were the weapons?

"This is messed up…"

The other guard rubbed his neck, "Yeah, but I think this guy had a better death than anyone we send to the 5th Laboratory… at least he's dead." With a bowed head he let out a sigh, "I'll go get the mop."

 _Several days later_

"Fuhrer King Bradley is requesting to see the Blue Rose Alchemist."

Konan looked up from her chair in the hotel's living room to see an unfamiliar officer at the door. For some reason after the prison incident, Livius hasn't been seen. Naturally, the Akatsuki took advantage of the lack of a babysitter to relax and practice more alchemy. Sadly, only Konan and Sasori have found practical uses for alchemy as Deidara was not allowed to blow things up, Hidan didn't care and Itachi… well, he kept to himself on his progress.

"Very well." Konan pushed herself off her chair, "Itachi follow me-"

"Ah, sorry ma'am… he has specifically ordered you alone." The officer gulped nervously when everyone but the alchemist and redhead gave him death stares, "Said it was important."

Hidan shot to his feet, "There is no fucking way we're letting the bitch go alone!"

"Hidan, enough." Konan gave Hidan a stern look, causing the other to sit down, "I will be fine. Sasori is in charge, stay in Central and if trouble happens…" She slipped on her sandals and left the hotel room.

Hidan broke into a wide grin, "Oh I hope trouble comes, it's been so fucking boring here."

 _One car ride later_

Bradley's mansion was huge, granted he was the leader of an entire country, but Konan had trouble pinpointing any life. With the lack of chakra in this world and Konan not being a sensor type, she had to focus on heartbeats and energy… but something was muddling even that.

"Right this way, Miss." A man in a smart suit bowed to her and began leading her through the obnoxiously sized house. Must be a servant. The man opened a pair of double dark wooden doors to reveal a well-decorated room, "Please wait here." With that, the servant left the room, leaving Konan alone.

"..." Almost instantly Konan briskly walked towards the windows and gave each one a few light taps. Standard glass, locks are simple, 'No sign of any traps either, not even cameras… the Akatsuki bases have better security than this… someone's coming.' With a flick of her right wrist, a kunai slid out. Konan kept it hidden with her body as someone opened the door on her left.

"Oh dear, I'm so terribly sorry." A middle-aged woman entered the room, one arm tucked close to her body, under her chest and the other hand resting against her cheek, "My husband had something come up at the last minute and had to leave."

Konan held herself back to keep her eyebrow from raising, 'So… this was a trap… but for what?' She gave the woman a respectful bow, "Good evening Mrs. Bradley, my name is Konan." Straightening up her back she gave the woman a harmless smile, "Do not apologize for his actions, I'll speak with him another time."

Mrs. Bradley slowly nodded, still having a guilty expression, "But still, why not sit and enjoy some tea?" Before Konan could deny the offer, the servant from before enters the room with a rolling tray with a fancy tea set.

Konan let out a sigh before politely sitting at the chair Mrs. Bradley offered to her and a cup of amber-red liquid was soon in her hands, "Thank you…" It didn't take a jonin to realize that it wasn't poisoned, this woman didn't have a violent vein in her body. In fact, she was pretty sure Mrs. Bradley was the most harmless person she has met so far in this world.

Mrs. Bradley offered a soft smile before sipping her tea, "So, Miss. Konan…"

"Just Konan, please. It feels odd being called 'miss' by everyone."

"Right, Konan, how are you handling your stay in Amestris? I'm not aware of the details, but my husband said you were from Xing. I would assume it's quite different compared to here."

Konan straightened herself, "I must admit… it is different. The culture, food, even the politics are new to us…" Her shoulders slack, "Being away from my childhood friend has been…" Konan bowed and slowly shook her head, something about Mrs. Bradley just made her want to… talk, "It's been barely a month, but this has been the longest we've been separated since we were teenagers…"

"I understand, dear. You have your reasons for coming here, but I am curious… I've heard that you are traveling with four other men, what are they like?" Mrs. Bradley gave Konan a concerned expression, "Are you safe with them?"

Konan eventually slumped back into her seat, feeling relaxed around the motherly-like woman, "Yes. They're loyal to me exclusively until we return home, any harm done to me under their watch would be returned to them by my friend…" She had to let out a small laugh, "But I must say, they act like a weird combination of brothers. The eldest and second youngest stick around to keep the other two from causing trouble. Sometimes I feel like a mother with four overprotective sons." Overprotective sons with the ability to wipe out entire countries alone, but Mrs. Bradley didn't need to know about that.

let out a soft laugh behind her hand, "Oh, I know what it's like to have a son, they can be such a handful sometimes. Speaking of sons, Selim?" She called out towards the door, "Why don't you say hello to Konan here?"

"Yes, mother!"

Konan kept her face blank as bloodlust overcame the room, she's lived long enough with the Akatsuki to know what it feels like. A small child bound over, looking up at her with large sparkly eyes and gushing about how she's an alchemist. But this was no child, and honestly, she was shocked that Mrs. Bradley is unable to sense the danger she could be in. In a sense, it was like standing before a jinchuuriki, but at the same time not… jinchuuriki are just humans with a tailed-beast residing in their bodies.

This… this thing is a monster in a child's skin.

Rubbing her forehead and swaying slightly, Konan faked a dizzy spell, "Forgive me Mrs. Bradley, but I'm not feeling well… I must go retire for the night." She avoided meeting her eyes with this Salim child, she'll need to report this information to her men quickly. Sure, Bradley was someone to keep an eye on, but there was something off about the smaller person in front of her… Like that short fat man...

Mrs. Bradley was by the woman's side at an instant, "Oh dear, are you alright? Do you need someone to escort you?" The older woman began to fret, fearing her guest would faint and hurt herself, "Selim, call for a car please."

Konan shook her head, "No, I'll be fine walking on my own. Where I'm from, walking often helps these ailments." Or in her case, she would fly.

Mrs. Bradley rested a hand against her cheek with a tilt of her head, still worried, "If… if you say so, Miss. Konan. Do be safe walking home."

The Akatsuki member took this opportunity to briskly walk out of the house, but the bloodlust wouldn't leave her side and only seemed to be stronger when she was nearby a streetlamp. Her body slowly began to break apart into paper to fly into the night away from the ground.

" **I wouldn't do that… if I were you, Blue Rose Alchemist…** "

Shadows weaved across her form and held her in place, a large eye and a Cheshire grin formed in the darkness, " **It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Pride. I have been waiting to meet you for quite some time after Father was informed of your arrival.** "

"I assume you're related to the short fat man that we had met and asked to eat the corpses." Konan kept her heart steady as the shadows trailed up to her throat and gave a slight squeeze. Guess pride is not only his name but also a literal part of his personality, "These shadows are interesting..." But not as impressive as the Nara clan's shadow possession jutsu, she can still move parts of her body. These shadows must be more for combat than capture.

Pride let out a chuckle, " **How amusing, I've never had a human react so calmly to my appearance… yes, Gluttony is one of many siblings that I have. I am here to pass on a message from Father, he wants you five to meet him and I am to ensure you arrive.** " Konan soon began to feel a slight pull and her feet dragged slowly across the sidewalk and towards the darkness, " **If you refuse, I'm afraid we'll have to get rid of you all, and that would be a waste of alchemists.** "

"I'm sure we'll meet your 'father' some other time, but I'm not too interested in meeting this man at this moment. Your shadows may be useful in some ways, and if I was anyone else, this would work… but in order to capture me, you would need to control my shadows… every single one of them." Holding up a sheep sign, Konan burst into thousands of papers and flew off, using the wind to pick up the pace and head to the hotel the Akatsuki were staying.

 _Back with the Akatsuki (shortly after Konan left the hotel earlier that evening)_

Having been freed from their boring babysitter and Konan not giving out any orders, Deidara sprang to his feet, "I'm going for a walk, un."

Itachi looked up from his book, "We're supposed to stay here, Deidara."

"Thanks for the orders, Uchiha, but you're not Konan and I'm going stir crazy being in this place. So unless you want me to test out my new art project on you and your damn eyes, I'm stepping outside, un." A quick side glance towards his older partner and noting that Sasori is doing nothing to stop him, he opened the door and left without a word.

Itachi sighed, "Are you sure this is a good idea, Sasori? To just let him roam around freely?"

"One of two things will happen, either he returns without a problem, or he'll lure out whoever is working for Bradley under the radar." If there was one thing Sasori had to admit Deidara was good at, it was directing all attention towards him. As annoying as it is, the brat was useful in keeping enemy shinobi off his track when they're on missions.

Hidan almost instantly shot up in a sitting position, "Wait a fucking minute, who's doing what?"

The puppet master gave Hidan a bored expression, "I'm not surprised you never noticed. There has been an increasingly high amount of kill intent in every area we have been in except for Resembool. Even from the short man from the first day, we arrived here, and it was the same kind from that soldier that is supposed to escort us everywhere." He stared at Hidan for a moment before returning to a puppet, "I doubt they're human, and if they are then they're heavily modified humans."

"So... no one fucking cares if he gets killed by these supposed threats or betrays us to them?"

"It's nothing to worry about. The brat won't die yet, he has his… explosions to focus on. And he won't betray us."

"Even though you guys fucking forced his ass to join? If I was in his shoes, I'd take the first opportunity given to me, especially if it meant Itachi dying."

Neither Itachi nor Sasori made any comments.

 _Back with Deidara_

The moment he was outside, Deidara took some clay out of one of his pouches to sculpt. He's been dying to show this new world his art, but after seeing how that Kimbley person was locked away, it's obvious that this world wasn't ready for him yet.

"Tch, they wouldn't know true art if it blew up in their face… actually, considering how fragile everything is, they would die first, un" Jabbing his thumb into the eye of the bird he was creating, he barely noticed the pole in front of him and the next thing he knew, his face hurt, "I hate this stupid city! Urgh! I just wish I could blow this place up to hell!" Throwing his head back, Deidara took a long breath, "Easy there, Deidara… Just because you're a teenager doesn't mean you need to act like one of those idiots… like Tobi but angry… heh, that's a sight, un."

Soft clicking from behind caught his attention almost instantly. Turning around, he spots a short-haired black dog slowly walking towards him, 'Huh… that's an odd looking dog…' Pointed, cropped ears and a stubby tail and yet had a lean, muscular body. Tilting his head, Deidara spotted a thick leather collar around its neck but with no identification tag.

The dog almost instantly went into a playful position when it realized Deidara was looking at him, crouching its upper half down to the ground and trying to wag its stub of a tale. Letting out a bark, it bounced around to entice the blond to follow it and play.

Deidara jerked his head back with a raised eyebrow, "Beat it. Last time I played with a dog it got merged with its human and was killed. You're not even half as cute… actually, you're kinda ugly*, un." He froze when the dog stopped moving, a low growl forming from its throat, "Think you can catch me? Try it." Focusing chakra into his feet, Deidara bolted up the side of a building. The dog barked infrequently, sound more and more like a human shouting as Deidara went farther away, "This place is full of freaks, un."

Leaping from the building's roof onto another, something large, round, and heavy landed on top of him. With his head colliding with the stone roof he promptly blacked out upon impact.

 _Several minutes later_

"I don't… ran up… Lust he's… hands!"

"Ugh…" Deidara slowly gained back conscious as he picked up small bits of someone yelling in what sounded like a state of shock. Of course, it's a little hard to stay unconscious when that voice was barely a foot away from him.

"We will discuss this later with Father, Envy. Our friend here is waking up."

'That was a woman's voice… huh, a rather attractive tone to it too.' Deidara's vision was quickly overwhelmed when purple eyes and a wide grin entered his line of vision, though most of it was blocked by his bangs, "What the hel-" He paused when he noticed his hands were bound behind his back, rather skillfully too.

"Got to admit, I didn't expect a human to run up a wall like that. Though I could have gone without the ugly comment." The… man? Woman? Whatever. The person that he presumed to be Envy growled out the phrase "ugly" like it was a bitter herb- ohhh… wait.

"You're that dog? I thought this-... this country couldn't do henges. What the hell are you?"

Lust slowly walked towards the teen and gave him a long look, "You hesitated… no matter. Envy, why not demonstrate our friend here what you are able to do?"

Envy's grin grew -if that was even possible- and red electricity sparked from his body and soon began to morph. Deidara watched in fascination and mild horror as a perfect replica of him stood over him with that same psychotic grin, "Man this body is so not cute… oh well, what do you think? We're homunculus, and I'm the only one that can do this." Envy rested a hand on his hip before examining his nails, "Why do you guys paint your nails? Also what the hell is with the mouths? I'm still not sure if you're actually a man under that cloak." So… is Envy suppose to scare him… or nag at him?

Deidara tilted his head in thought, 'Wait… Is he going to impersonate me? Me of all people? Does he even know how I ac- oh, he's that soldier. I thought that voice sounded familiar… hm…' He let out a low chuckle, "You'll be discovered within five minutes. Not only because you're not talking like me, but because you don't understand how the Akatsuki act in private, un."

"So?" Envy waved his hand nonchalantly, "You humans are stupid. I don't need to be a perfect copy to get your friends to listen to me. Don't worry, you won't be killed yet. We just need to use you to get your friends to meet Father… un." Envy scrunched up his face and smacked his lips a few times, "You got a speech problem or something, Deidara? That grunt is pretty annoying."

Deidara rolled his eyes and sat up as straight as possible, kinda hard when his hands are bound, "You don't seem to understand how we work. Your ability isn't anything special in our country, in fact, everyone in our profession is expected to be able to do that by the time they're 11, un." Huh… red is not his color, but this "homunculus" is amusing to annoy, "If you really want to fool everyone, you're going to have to act right."

Lust was instantly suspicious, "Why should we believe anything you tell us?"

The bomber shrugged, "Maybe because I was forced to join against my will? I was free to do what I wanted with my art until they showed up and made me join… I've resented them ever since that day, un." Specifically Itachi… one day he would kill that Uchiha and prove that his eyes are worthless.

Envy thought about this for a moment before letting out a whistle, flicking away the blond bangs covering his fake face, "Well that's certainly entertaining…" He paused before laughing, "Oh, I see now. You're going to lie and tell me how to act so they catch on! I don't need advice from you, I'm pretty sure I can trick them easily."

"Oh, well then I suppose you know how Itachi and I really interact whenever no one is around, un."

The homunculus instantly perked up at this, Envy planted his hands on his hips, "You two hate each other, obviously."

'I cannot believe I'm doing this…' Deidara swallowed his pride and slowly pushed down the need to gag, "There's a reason Itachi and I left the same room together… and why Hidan alerted us of your presence before we even left the room..."

 _Several minutes later, back at the Hotel_

Sasori looked up to see Deidara return from whatever his adventures took him, "Finally got the stress out of your system, brat?"

The blond clicked his tongue in annoyance, "Yeah, I just needed to get away from you all for a while, un." There was a slight hesitancy in his movements, but soon Deidara headed towards the sofa Itachi was sitting on and plopped onto the plush material.

… And then proceed to snuggle against said Uchiha.

'Something doesn't seem right.' Envy mused to himself as he observed the reactions he was given. That fool Hidan stopped mid-prayer to gape at him while Sasori was giving him a blank stare as if staring through his head. The jealous homunculi could never get a reading on the redhead, it was like he never had any emotions whatsoever. And the Uchiha…

'Weird... thought this human and the blond were lovers...'

Itachi's entire body tensed up, fingers clenching the book in his hands so tightly the pages were straining to remain together. Despite his heightened senses, he didn't expect to hear a voice enter the room and then said owner of said voice cuddle up to him. Itachi slowly inhaled to keep his composure, forcing himself to stop a very un-Uchiha like sound from escaping his throat. Because if it escaped, it would sound like a mixture of a sad dog and a wheeze. Uchihas do not wheeze. He wanted to move but he locked eyes with Sasori and kept still, silently praying that this would end soon or that Deidara was just drunk. Slowly, he started schooling his emotions to return back to his normal Uchiha glar- oh Kami, he's starting to nuzzle like a lovesick cat!

Hidan shook his head in such a violent manner that his entire body jolted, "You okay blondie?" He shot up to his feet to get a better look, "How much have you drank and where can I get that shit? You must be fucking wasted right now." He ignored the glare

Hidan talking snapped the puppet master from his daze, 'One…' Sasori slowly got up and walked to the duo on the couch, "Brat, take off your shirt."

The odd request made Envy jerked his body into a proper sitting position. Ignoring the relieved sigh from Itachi, he tried to keep up his act and crossed his arms, "Why should I, Sasori, un?" Man, he hated that sound. Ugh, they should have gone with the forceful route and made these guys go with them.

If Sasori could he would have raised an eyebrow, 'Two…' Flexing his fingers, Envy lost control of his body. No matter how hard he fought, an unknown force made him strip away the cloak and shirt. Sasori stared at what he thought was his partner's chest, blinked once, 'Three.'

And promptly stabbed the imposter in the stomach with his stomach cable.

Envy yelled out in pain, "What the hell was that for?!" He didn't get a chance to argue more when he was suddenly thrown out a window, his philosopher's stone was working overtime to heal the perfectly cylindrical hole in his stomach. Returning to his cuter form the homunculi glared at the three shinobi that landed in front of him, "How did you figure it out?"

"Well, for one thing, the fucker would sooner admit that Sasori's art was fucking right before snuggling the Uchiha." Hidan summoned his scythe and allowed some of Envy's blood to drip onto the blade from the cable, ignoring both the poison and the red sparks, "Not sure what else gave it away though, shit man your blood fucking rocks! Woo! Love that kick you have!"

Sasori rolled his eyes, "You fell for Deidara's lies it appears, you're not that bright. Did he tell you that he was forced to join and that he would be willing to help you?" He didn't wait for a response, "Itachi was the one to make him join, you were foolish enough to listen to him. And another thing…" Sasori stomach cable extend more, making Envy back away, "Deidara has a mouth sewn on his chest, I've seen it enough times to know what it looks like…"

Envy had a feeling there was another thing he messed up.

"And the brat calls me Danna when it's just the Akatsuki."

Ah, there it is.

Envy had to do a roll to dodge the cable coming after him, not only was it fast but he couldn't trace any alchemy coming from Sasori. Was the cable… inside him? No way. Humans were reckless, but they'd sooner shoot a gun then mutilate their own body to hide weapons, "What the hell does that word even mean?!"

Hidan scraped his foot across the grass, slowly creating his Jashin symbol, "Doesn't it mean master or…" He deadpans and stares at Sasori mid-leg swipe, "Don't fucking tell me…"

Sasori could feel a non-existent blood vessel throb, "Whatever is going through your head, quit it. That brat is the one who chose the nickname so you can ask him."

"Whatever, I'll think what I fucking want. Oh well… Time for the ritual!" Hidan laughed insanely as his skin turned black with his iconic skeletal patterns, "I wonder how Lord Jashin will handle your life?" Pulling out a retractable pike from his cloak, Hidan wasted no time in stabbing himself in the calf. Envy fell to the ground momentarily, red sparks flew from the wounded area, "Fucking self-healing? This'll be fucking fun, I can go all day with this shit!"

'What the hell are these people?!' Envy shot to his feet long enough to avoid another attack from Sasori. He tried transforming his arm to grab him but Hidan stabbed himself in the shoulder, stopping any movements. Suddenly, his gag reflex kicked in as his body quickly rejected something. Lurching the upper half of his body, Envy coughed up a condensed purple liquid into his hands, "Ugh, poison?!" When did they poison him?

"Hm… So your body rejects poison… I'll need to make a note of that." Sasori slowly retracted his stomach cable, allowing Envy to see the same purple liquid drip from the metallic weapon, "Had that stayed in your body, you would have died in three days…"

Amazing, Envy was learning more about the Akatsuki in combat than he has when trying to spy on them! Did everyone from Xing explain their moves to their opponents, or were these guys just the oddballs? Scanning the area, the only one not moving was Itachi, but Envy hasn't seen his eyes change color yet, so he wasn't in an illusion… right?

Sasori eyed Itachi, "I trust no one will disturb this fight?"

Itachi slowly nodded, "Yes, the entire building is under a simple genjutsu. As far as they know, we are birds having a scuffle."

Hidan snorted, finding the idea of him being a little bird amusing, "Well tweet, tweet fucking tweet!" Amused with himself he aimed his pike for his heart, "Let's see if this fucker can heal his heart."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…"

The Akatsuki paused when Lust entered from an alley, a tied up Deidara begrudgingly being dragged by his hair. Gluttony, as usual, was by her side and pouting that after the 5th time asking, Lust still would not let him eat the blond, "Unless you want to see your friend die… I suggest you put away your weapons this instant, and I'm not a patient woman."

Hidan stretched out his neck to get a good look at Deidara, "Hey Blondie."

"Hey Hidan, un…" Deidara flinched when his hair was given a harsh tug.

"How the fuck did you get in that mess?"

"Ran from a dog, got knocked out by the fat guy."

"Ah… these fuckers do know we don't give a shit about you right?"

Sasori glared at Hidan darkly, "You're not the one that would have his partner replaced with Tobi. Don't do anything stupid, you immortal idiot."

Deidara slowly blinked, "Glad to know you care, Danna. But let's be honest here, Hidan, I'm guessing you're going to stab yourself, un?"

Hidan didn't even have to give a response. With a psychotic gleam in his eyes that left an unsettling feeling in the homunculus, the pike was driven through his heart and he threw his head back in both pleasure and sadistic joy as he listened to Envy cry out in pain, "Ohhh yes, that felt good~ And now I get to watch you di-... Ok, that is just fucking annoying."

Envy gripped the part where he felt the stab and stood there as his stone quickly undid all the damage, "Stupid human, did you really think something like that would kill a homunculus?! And how are you still alive?!"

"Bitch, I'm immortal. I wish someone would be able to kill me."

Lust let out a sigh of fake disappointment, "This could have gone smoother Envy if you had just told them to come with us to see Father. Now I have to stab this potential sacrifice. Shame, his face is rather pretty..."

Deidara clamped down on his lip when he felt something sharp go through the right side of his chest, his mouth filling with blood as a result. Sure, he had a high pain tolerance, but this was not something he signed up for. He slowly twists his head to glare at the woman before looking at the Akatsuki, "Now can I… ugh… Now can I use my art, un?"

"What-?!" Lust retracted her finger when a white centipede wrapped around her arm, "Disgusting!"

While distracted, Deidara took this moment to jump away from the woman. Blood spraying on the grass below as he created his signature hand sign with his bound hands, "Katsu!" Envy and Lust stared in horror as the insect exploded, and Lust let out a scream that was a mix of rage and pain as her arm and parts of her shoulder turned to dust, "Finally... Heh-" Deidara gagged, followed by coughing up an entire mouthful of blood. Laughing hurt.

Lust growled as her arm slowly regrew, "You'll regret this…" But before she could make a move, the sound of fluttering paper made her look up. Konan was hovering in the air, paper angel wings holding her, "So… even Pride failed… let's go for now Envy, Gluttony… Our orders were to retrieve them and bring them to Father, not to kill them. Besides, we have other things to take care off..."

Gluttony considered curling into a ball to pout in his disappointment, "I didn't get to eat any of them…" But he hobbled after Lust, seeing his sister walk into the darkness, "Wait for me, Lust!"

"Tch…" Envy dropped on all fours, snarling at the Akatsuki, "You'll regret this, humans…" Turning into a dog, Envy bolted off after his siblings.

Konan landed on the ground while Hidan threw taunts at where the homunculus fled, "I'll want full reports on what just happened…" She eyed Sasori, who was untying and trying to tend to a bleeding Deidara, "after Deidara is taken to the hospital…"

Itachi walked towards the blue haired woman, "No matter what Hidan did in his jutsu, the loud one would regenerate himself… your orders?"

Konan crossed her arms to think, "Give me some time to consider this… Sasori, take Deidara and go, now."

Sasori didn't even look at Konan, he scooped up his younger partner and ran off in the direction of the hospital. Blood dripped from the blonds paling body leaving a trail in the darkness. He would be able to close the hole in Deidara's chest, but he was losing blood too fast and would need to see doctors that specialized in healing and not poisoning.

Hidan's skin slowly turned back to normal and he put away his scythe, "I'm going to fucking shower and pray to Lord Jashin…"

The moment Hidan was gone, Itachi took this moment to give Konan a detailed report. He reluctantly included the part where Envy had transformed himself into Deidara and… cuddled him, "As much as it pains me to admit it, that was a tactical strategy on his part."

"Indeed, though now that we know they're interested in us, I'll need to enforce the rule that no one can travel alone." Konan sighed and shivered, "There is something living in the Fuhrer's estate, something worse than those three…" She shook her head, "Nevermind, let's go find Edward and Alphonse and warn them about the homunculus…"

Itachi blinked a few times, "They figured out how to make a philosopher's stone and showed interest in a laboratory by the prison Hidan and Deidara went to."

Konan could have sworn she felt all of the energy within her drain as she let out air, "What are the chances of those boys getting themselves in trouble or killed?"

Itachi opened his mouth, and at the same time, an explosion happened in the distance, "About as high as Hidan and Deidara causing trouble."

* * *

 **Well, I'm tired while writing this AN and my beta is just as sleepy. Anyway, the bit with the Akatsuki and the homunculus was a thought process I had when watching FMAB months ago, I just thought "What would happen if Envy tried to impersonate an Akatsuki member?" And I made this fic so I could have fun with that. I just didn't want the Akatsuki to spend the entire time with the brothers because that sounded really boring in my head, so I let the Akatsuki explore. Gotta say, I had fun writing Deidara meeting Kimblee.**

 **I did struggle a little in how to make Deidara trick the homunculus, but after talking with my beta about it, I realized that because the Akatsuki are naturally secretive it would only make sense for Envy to fall for the whole "They're going to find out about you" lie... Also, I just really wanted to have some fun with that scene with Envy and Itachi.**

* Livius is literally the only name I could find that meant Envy and wasn't stupid, and Dreyse is the name of a WWII German pistol. I put them together and it worked well for the guy.

* I like doberman, but Envy does not make a cute dog in the slightest. So naturally, blunt little Deidara would call him ugly and stab Envy's sensitive ego.

 **Next chapter will revolve around the aftermath of the 5th laboratory, and a few other things that happen over the course of a couple of episodes. I'm not sure what in particular yet besides a few moments though. Also, the Akatsuki will most likely be splitting up temporarily next chapter so that way we can see what is going on in both Central and wherever the brothers travel to.**

 **As always, reviews are loved and I will see you guys in the next chapter.**

 **Bye!**


	8. Gone too Soon

**Well… you all know what's gonna happen in this chapter. I never planned on finding a way to make him live despite my love for this particular character, but his death is the true impact of the story and the starting point for many of the events later on.**

 **Slight update: I recently realized that at this point, Roy was not in Central 24/7, but I already established it as canon in this fic and it's too late to change it. Sorry about that.**

 **Thank you so much for all of the faves, follows, and reviews, wonder if any of you guys noticed the random small details I added. :P**

 **Jojobrn: I don't think I'll be having Envy impersonate any of the Akatsuki members anytime soon after he realized that they are pretty tight knit on their information. But that would be an interesting interaction.**

 **Pippin: *Immune to puppy eyes* Don't worry, all of the Akatsuki members will get screen time in the story, next chapter having him show up more.**

 **18Dragon: Aww, but I love Envy, he's one of my favorite characters. Killing him this early would remove all of the fun in the fic.**

 **NobleDragon12: Honestly, I would use that response as well.**

 **Demon King of The Sixth Heaven: I'm not even trying to make this be funny, but I'm glad that you are enjoying it. ^^**

 **princessbinas: Honestly, Deidara is the hardest to impersonate because of his relationships with all of the other Akatsuki members. But don't worry, Deidara will start using his art very soon and in high amounts as well.**

 **TheSuperMario: Yeah, Hidan will be making immortality comments often when these idiots keep trying to kill him.**

 **Guest: Realistically speaking, most of the more "dangerous" ones would be killed on sight or be useless. Nagato is too sickly and weak, realistically Pein would collapse on arrival without Nagato being around, Kisame would be shot at, Kakuzu would maybe be a threat but that's about it. Honestly, the FMAB world ended up getting the worst bunch because half of them are -as far as they know- unkillable or merciless.**

 **Warning: Violence, language (no duh, Hidan), character death, funeral, mention of religion (that isn't Jashinism), a lovely overprotective father. Friendly reminder that the Akatsuki are platonic within themselves and with the FMAB characters, nothing more than harmless flirting will happen in this story. Sorry yaoi fangirls, I love it just as much as you do, but it would not fit my story.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.**

* * *

The following day the Akatsuki went to the hospital. Not only to check on their injured bomber but also because the Elric brothers went and did something stupid. Their mechanic Winry was already on her way to the hospital with Armstrong.

Itachi paused in his walking when he spotted Al sitting in the darker end of a hallway. Motioning for Konan and Hidan to keep going, he walked over to the boy, "Alphonse?" He stood there for a moment as Al didn't even look up at him, "Did something happen at the lab?"

"...I don't want to talk about it…"

The Uchiha had to hold in his smile, he sounded too much like Sasuke when upset, "Are you sure? Seems to me like it's something you don't want to talk about to your brother… so why not me? I'm pretty good at keeping secrets."

Al stared at Itachi, something about the man made him want to both run for his life… but to also tell him everything. He let out a sigh, "I met someone at the 5th Laboratory… someone like me…"

 _With the other Akatsuki_

A nurse approached Konan as they made their way to Deidara's room, "Excuse me, are you, mister…" She squinted at the name on the clipboard, "Day-dah-rah Ee-wah-gah-ku-re's guardian? The redheaded boy said to look for a woman with blue hair and well…"

Hidan stuffed his fist in his mouth to keep himself from laughing while Konan was also amused by the butchering of Deidara's name and supposed last name, "Yes, I am in charge of Deidara Iwagakure, how is he?"

The nurse sighed with relief, "He's in pretty bad shape, ma'am. I don't know what type of alchemy his friend did, but I think that was the only thing that saved his life. We're doing a blood transfusion to help replenish what he's lost… I'm surprised by how much information the redhead could give us…" Konan could barely make out the information on the clipboard and it was quite a bit… but she could tell half of it was fabricated. When did Deidara ever have an allergic reaction to preservatives?

Konan tried not to show signs of annoyance, "Sasori has known Deidara for many years now, you could say they're inseparable." An eyebrow rose as she noticed the conflicting expression on the nurse's face, "Is something the matter?"

"Yes, speaking of… Sasori is it? He refused to leave his friend's side even when we asked him to leave. Spooked the doctor half to death. Would it be possible to get him to leave so we can monitor… uhm… Deidara, more closely?"

If the nurse had asked anything else, Konan would have complied, but not that, "No. As far as we are concerned, Deidara is not safe alone in this hospital and Sasori is better than any guard you place at his doors. I can have him stay out of your way, but that is all I will do."

The other woman held back her annoyance but it was evident in the twitch of her mouth, "Very well… and about the tattoo and stitches on his chest-"

"If it doesn't concern the blond's health then don't ask dumbass questions." Hidan sneered at the stunned woman before storming off towards the hospital room, "Dumb bitch sticking her nose into things she has no business looking into…" Konan followed behind him, losing what little faith she had in the hospital's staff.

Quietly opening the door, Konan looked inside the room. Deidara was asleep on a bed, an IV sticking into his wrist and an oxygen mask over his face, bandages covered the spot where he was stabbed the previous night. Sasori was sitting in a chair only a few feet away, looking up from a scroll to confirm that, yes, this was not the nosy nurse and was instead his boss and returned back to his reading.

"How is he?" Konan quietly shut the door when Hidan entered the room, releasing small amounts of chakra so Itachi could track them. Deidara's face twitched when the door clicked, but other than that, he remained still.

Sasori rolled up the scroll and pocketed it, "It's a good thing I know everything about Deidara medical wise, they had to give him an IV almost as soon as he was put into the bed. They also had me give him medication since the brat wouldn't open his mouth for the doctor but after that, he fell asleep and hasn't moved since." His patience was wearing thin, but he needed his partner alive less he get stuck with the idiot back in their homeworld.

Konan relaxed, "But he is alive, that was my main concern… when Itachi catches up I will be giving out updated orders…" Speak of the devil and he shall appear, "Alphonse?"

"It's personal matters, I have no intention of sharing them." Itachi gave a glance at the sleeping blond in the bed and leaned against the wall beside Hidan.

Konan crossed her arms, "We're splitting up temporarily." The room went silent, "I received orders from the Fuhrer and he wants me to stay in Central so that I can receive 'proper military training' according to the memo…"

Hidan tilted his head, "How the fuck does this connect with us splitting up?!"

The second-in-command pinched the bridge of her nose, "Because, I need two of you to remain here in Central while the other two go with the Elric brothers. I've heard that Scar is supposedly dead, but I highly doubt a man like that would be that easy to kill… and those homunculus are another matter… we need to spread out to keep gathering information."

Sasori thought about this for a moment, "So Itachi and Hidan will be staying with you, while the brat and I go with the brothers?" It was the only logical split up that he could see. Deidara and himself were partners after all, they work best together while Itachi and Hidan can effectively protect Konan from anyone that wishes to hurt her.

"You are half correct. Hidan and you," She motions to Sasori, "Will remain here with me. Meaning the ones that will go with Edward and Alphonse are Itachi and-"

"No way…"

The Akatsuki turned to look at the bed to see one of Deidara's eye open, the other covered by his bangs, "There is no way I'm going with the Uchiha, un!" Sasori had to all but scramble to the bed to keep Deidara from getting up, putting pressure on his uninjured shoulder and his stomach and placing as much weight as possible, "Why the hell would I go with him?!"

"I must admit, I agree with Deidara." Itachi winced when Sasori had to fix the IV, "Neither of us get along or have high opinions of each other, nor have we ever worked together on a mission. How does this benefit us or the brothers?"

Konan could almost feel herself lose more energy, "Hidan is best here due to his immortality and having access to a steady supply of sacrifices and Sasori's natural ability to create spies will benefit looking more into the military. I want you two to go with the brothers because of your abilities and the fact that neither one of you seem to be making much progress in alchemy."

Deidara's anxiety went through the roof, "It's not my fault that so far no one has allowed me to-!"

"Enough!" Deidara's mouth clamped shut when Konan raised her voice, "Here is how this will work: Deidara… you will go with Itachi, protect the Elric brothers and learn alchemy. You two will relay any information you gather straight to me when you return to Central… and if either one of you, or the brothers are in danger…" She could not believe she was going to say this…

"I give you both, full permission, to use any jutsu or technique that you see fit to ensure all four of you stay alive. Sharingan, explosives, alchemy, anything you wish as long as you do not attack each other and instead use your abilities to help each other."

Neither one moved and the other Akatsuki could swear they see scales weighing their options inside their heads. Surprisingly, the first one to speak was Deidara, "Fine, I can deal with that, un." Itachi only nodded in agreement.

Sasori blinked, "I'm surprised you gave in so quickly, brat."

Deidara avoided lookimg at anyone, suddenly finding his palms interesting, "I get the option to use my art in combat and it's not like I would be allowed to kill Itachi anytime soon, I can wait until we return to our home world, un." His eyelids suddenly felt heavy, "Now can you all leave so I… can… sleep…" With a long exhale, sleep took over his mind and his body went limp.

Hidan let out a low whistle, "Talk about timing, blondie passed out the moment he's done talking." What kind of drugs did they put in his body that made him pass out that fast?

Konan didn't respond to that and instead spoke to Sasori, "Watch over him, he leaves with Itachi when recovered." Leaving the room, she was greeted with an interesting sight. Maes was dragging Winry off by the back of her collar while humming a cheerful tune… yes, interesting sight indeed.

"Yo, Akatsuki!" Maes would have greeted the shinobi with a wave but he had his hands full, "Why don't you guys come over to my place and have dinner with the family? My wife has been wanting to meet you!"

At first, she hesitated at the offer but accepted when she remembered that genin posed a greater threat than him. Cautiously, the shinobi followed him to an apartment where they could smell different kinds of foods being made. The next thing anyone could comprehend what was happening, people were entering Maes house in a joyous manner, "Um… is this a party Mr. Hughes?"

"Just call me Hughes, and it is! It's my darling Elicia's birthday!" This man radiated happiness as he was finishing up decorations, "You can get comfortable if you want, no need to stay in those stuffy cloaks I see you guys wear!"

'Stuffy…?' Konan looked down at her cloak, not sure if she should agree with him or feel offended by the comment. By the time she looked up, Hidan and Itachi had already left the room to change, "I think it would be best for me to remain in these clothes… what I have under my cloak is…" She mentally guessed how old all of the children were, "not suitable for young eyes…"

"I may have something you could wear." Konan blinked a few times and looked to her right to see Hughes' wife, Gracia, giving her the perfect housewife-type smile. The people in this world are so odd, half are overly friendly even to strangers and the other half are better off dead... actually, that just sounds like her world in all honesty.

"Very well… thank you." Konan followed Gracia to her and Hughes' room. It definitely had the happily married couple vibe with nightstands on either side of the queen size bed. The side that was obviously Hughes' had several photographs of his family right in front of his night lamp, along with a book, a little green bookmark sticking out of the first third of it. Gracia's side just had a simple family photo and a small mirror. What caught Konan's real attention though was the obviously placed child's pillow between the two larger ones.

"Elicia likes to sleep with us." Gracia giggled softly when she caught Konan staring, "We keep it there just in case she sneaks into our bed, though I plan on having her break the habit when she starts school." She seemed more talking to herself than to her guest as she looked through her closet.

Konan hummed in understanding, "Do you plan on having another?" That must have been a surprise for Gracia as the woman nearly dropped a dress she was examining.

"O-oh, maybe when Elicia is older. It wouldn't be fair to make her share her father's affection with another sibling." Though the wistful glow in her eyes told Konan enough, if they did have more kids, they would be showered with love, "In any case, why don't you try this on?"

The dress was lovely but also simple, dark blue long sleeved with a white sash tied in a bow on the side. The fabric felt loose, so despite Konan having more curves than Gracia, it should fit her… but there was just one problem.

"Could you possibly step outside the room so I may change?" It was ridiculous of course, Konan and Gracia were both women and share the same body parts, but Konan was not going to change in front of someone without some form of chest coverage. She patiently waited for her hostess to leave before removing her cloak and fishing out what she was looking for.

With a sigh, Konan unzipped her top and quickly made work to wrap herself with a long strip of bandage cloth. Naturally, it needed to be tight enough to keep herself secured, but also loose enough to breathe. After three tries, she finally got it wrapped correctly and was soon slipping on the dress. To her surprise, the only difference in their sizes was that Gracia had mother hips and the dress actually fit her perfectly. But she took her hair down, finding that the dress looked too young to go with a bun.

Stepping out of the room, Gracia clapped her hands in delight, "Oh that looks beautiful on you, Konan! I haven't worn that in ages, I'm glad it gets to be used."

"Thank you…" Not use to dresses, Konan kept her shinobi pants and shoes on since they looked like leggings and heels anyway. Returning to the main room, the party was already underway and Winry was chatting up with Maes about something, Elicia sitting on her lap.

It's still strange, this world has so much pain and suffering going on in the front and yet… little pockets of joy are sprinkled throughout.

"Hey, Elicia! Play with me!"

"No way! She's playing with me!"

Konan raised an eyebrow in amusement as boys began arguing about who the birthday girl would play with. Looks like she'll be popular when she's older and loses her baby fat. Konan's amusement only skyrocketed when Maes pulled out a gun to scare the boys away.

Elicia let out a happy giggle, "Silly daddy, I won't marry boys like them." Maes began to glow with pride as she spoke, "I'm gonna marry someone like da-... him!"

Maes squawked in shock, "Huh?!"

Following the direction Elicia was pointing and slowly looking up, Maes locked eyes with Itachi. Oh no, his little girl was NOT going to marry someone like Itachi! Now, where did he put his big gun... oh right, the military has it...

Sensing the kill intent radiating in his direction, Itachi gracefully walked to the birthday girl and got to her height, "I'm honored to meet your standards, little one." He slowly places a hand on his chest, allowing his facial features to soften, "But I am spoken for. Look for a boy who will make you smile and laugh, alright?" Indeed, he was spoken for; death is a jealous and selfish mistress. But she is patient too.

Completely obvious to her dad's aura, Elicia pondered as well as a 3-year-old could, "Smile and laugh… okay, mister!" She blinked when she heard Maes slump into his chair in relief, "Tired?" Elicia instantly began to climb up his legs to get to his lap.

Maes chuckled and helped her up, "No no. But no boys until I say so." He wiggled his finger playfully before giving her nose a boop. At an instant, he was back to being a doting father.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Hidan was having a minor predicament.

"Hey, mister!"

"What?" Hidan glowered at the bunches of tiny male humans surrounding him. He purposefully stayed far away from them because he's not allowed to swear. But for some reason, these brats can't be normal brats and bother the "cool" Uchiha or the hot bitch that is Konan.

"Why are your eyes pink?"

With that one question, it set off a chain reaction.

"Yeah, and why is your hair white?"

"Are you old, mister?"

"Are you in a gang?"

"How do you know Elicia?"

"Do you know alchemy?" Hey, you already spoke!

Hidan slowly inhaled while looking at the ceiling, mentally swearing at Konan for not allowing him to murder people. Granted, he probably wouldn't kill kids, Jashin doesn't value their deaths as much but damn would he make them piss their pants.

"Look, kids," Hidan tried his hardest to contain his anger as he snapped his head down to stare at the boys dead in the eyes, "it's… rude… to ask people why they look differently, so stop with the questions. Yes, I know alchemy and I don't know the girl, I know her dad. So leave me alone." He glared at the kids making them run away, but instead of fear they are laughing and saying that he was scary but in a joking tone, "Fucking brats…"

 _The next day_

'Where's a knife so I can cut this tension?' Ed sweatdropped as he observed what was happening in front of him. It was no surprise that Konan had a few of the Akatsuki members go with them, but it was obvious these two did not think highly of each other.

Deidara and Itachi had changed into their civilian clothes before boarding the train, making them appear less of a threat. But that wasn't what made Ed feel a wave of mirth, it was the way they were sitting. Both had a leg crossed over the other, an elbow resting against the arms of the train seats and their heads resting against their palms. Winry was forced to sit between the men, and with a posture that gave her an almost perfectly symmetrical look, Ed could have sworn he was looking at a very warped mirror.

Winry let out an uncomfortably forced laugh as she turned her attention to Deidara, "So um… do you two travel often?" There was a long pause, no one moved even after the train whistled. Then suddenly, after tense moment and the train began to move, someone spoke.

"Not together, un…"

The response was so dry even Al felt parched.

Itachi let out a breath, "The Akatsuki travel in pairs, but Sasori and Deidara are the only ones here that are official partners. While it is not uncommon for sets of partners to work together, we haven't split up from our partners to work with others since the Akatsuki was just beginning to recruit." The tension alone made Itachi wished he hadn't asked Kisame for tea that day. Maybe, just maybe, he would be in this world and Itachi could feel at peace knowing he had a true ally on his side.

Al piped up, "Does that mean you two don't like each other much? You two don't tend to stay close to each other." In fact, as far as he could remember, whenever the Akatsuki were together it always looked as if the others were used as a barrier to keep them separated. But that had to be his imagination, right? Why work with someone you didn't like?

Finally moving, Deidara and Itachi sat straighter to lock eyes with each other, "I don't have any real opinions due to us rarely talking." Well, that's not too bad-

"I've sworn to kill him to prove my art is the superior technique, un."

Well then…

"Kill?" Winry paled as she tried to shrink away from the shinobi. She has heard Ed make the occasional "I'll kill you, bastard!" joke before whenever someone calls him small, but Deidara wasn't kidding. She could tell he truly meant it, "Wh- why would you want to kill someone?"

"He's looked down on my art with those damn eyes of his… made me join this organization when I had finally gained freedom from my village…" There was so much hatred and toxicity in his voice it could poison a horse. The Elric brothers were wondering if they'd have to keep them separated for not only their own safety but for the safety of people around them. But on the other hand… the older teen was injured still, so if they're lucky, conflict would be kept to a minimum.

"I never looked down on your art, Deidara. But we can discuss this in private later." Itachi settled in his spot, leaning his head against the wood, "You need to understand that I had a lot on my mind that day. Worrying about someone else's partner was not a top priority…"

Ed turned his head, only to see Deidara staring at Itachi with wide, confused eyes. This was going to be a long ride…

 _Back in Central_

Hidan trudged through the dark city with a scowl, out of any of the Akatsuki, why did he get stuck being in this fucking city? He was half tempted to attack some random passerby just to get his bloodlust under wraps.

"Stupid homun-whateverthefuck, stupid bitch and her orders, stupid- huh?" Hidan stopped when he spotted something about 20 meters away. There was some guy in a… what was it called? Phonebooth? He was talking to a woman that Hidan could have sworn he's seen before. Suddenly, the woman's cheek made red sparks that were too familiar… wait… she has one of those gun things.

Squinting his eyes, Hidan recognized the man in the booth, Hughes wasn't it? He went to his kid's party and he's that smug asshole's friend. Wait, Hidan blinked and now the woman was another woman, the gun pointed at Maes. Guns kill non-immortals, right? "HEY-"

BAM

Blood instantly splattered the glass and Hidan broke into a run, "The fuck is wrong with you-" But another sharp bam was heard and Hidan felt something penetrate his skull, the force made him tilt his head back as rapid footsteps got farther away from him in a hurry. When he moved his head back to normal, the woman was gone, "Owww… shit that hurts…" Digging a finger into his skull to find the bullet, Hidan reached the phone booth. He felt the bullet, but there was no way he was going to pull it out.

The Jashinist pondered over the dead soldier in front of him, only mildly noticing the blood seeping into his sandals, "Poor bastard… hm?" Bending down, Hidan picked up a photograph. Blood covered the upper half to the point of no repair, but he could still make out Hughes form in the photograph next to his wife and daughter, "Man… how am I going to tell the others about this-"

"Hughes? Are you there? Answer me!"

"Speak of the devil and Lord Jashin delivers…" Carefully stepping around Hughes' body and grimacing when his foot kept making that slick squeak noise from the sticky red liquid getting into his shoes, he picked up the phone, "Umm… fuck… how do I use this…"

"Swearing…? Who's there?! I demand that you answer me!"

'Oh, there's the noise.' Putting the phone next to his ear correctly, "This is Mus… Mustang right? You're this guy's buddy?"

Roy paused as he recognized the voice on the other end, that albino that claimed to be immortal! "Why are you on the line? Where's Hughes?!"

Hidan scratched the back of his head, "Yeah about that… your buddy is kinda… wait a minute." He pressed two fingers against Hughes' neck, "Yep, he's dead." Hidan had to hold the phone away from his ear as Roy began screaming obscenities into the receiver, "Would you shut the fuck up and get some people here to get his body? His blood is currently in my fucking shoes and there's something in my head because a transforming bitch shot me!"

There was a pause on the other line, soon followed by the sound of gritted teeth, "Where are you…?" Hidan could almost taste the rage emanating from the colonel.

"Some park, I guess we're nearby a military building. Now would you hurry the fuck up over here? Can't you bastards track this thing?!" He didn't receive an answer, only a click and soon silence, "Better hurry up… geez… let's move you..." Mindful to not disturb the body too much, Hidan carefully dragged it out of the booth and allowed it to rest on the ground, "I don't usually do this kind of shit, but you are a man of war, thus I will pray for Jashin to bring you to safety in the afterlife."

Hidan stayed there by Hughes for several minutes, Jashin amulet held close to his lips as he silently prayed to his god when he heard people running over to them. It was only when someone grabbed him did he open his eyes, "Oi oi oi, what the fuck are you doing?"

The soldier glared at Hidan, "Colonel Mustang as ordered you to be brought in for questioning regarding Maes Hughes' murder." He was taken aback when Hidan shook his hold of him.

"Are you fucking serious?! Does he think I'm responsible for this shit or something?" Hidan shot Roy a glare, who kept swapping from glaring back at Hidan and looking at his best friend's body in grief, "Look, I'm sorry that your friend was killed. But seriously, he was shot."

"There's a stab wound… I heard that you stab people…" Roy held back his desire to set the man ablaze, "As far as I know, you were involved… and for your sake, you better cooperate."

Letting out a low growl, Hidan complied, "Fine, but I want someone to contact Konan soon." His voice dropped to that of a low mumble, "Try to be fucking nice for once and gets treated like shit… fucking hate these people…" Much to the disgust of others, he proceeds to shove his finger back into his forehead, "Can someone remove this damn thing from my head? I'll even say please if needed."

Hidan was swiftly taken to the military's main building where a medic used tweezers to carefully remove the bullet. But instead of being let go, Hidan soon found himself stripped off all of his weapons, scrolls and even his pendant and put in a holding cell. He was considering this to be the last time he even tried to be helpful to these guys without Konan's orders- no wait, screw that noise! These guys were assholes!

 _The Next Day_

Hidan was not having a good day.

He's had to stay in that cell all night long, no one was telling him anything and Konan hasn't arrived yet. Either that woman was taking her sweet time getting over here, or no one has informed her about his imprisonment. What's more, he didn't appreciate the expectant look the officers interrogating him were giving him.

"So… Hidan is it? Tell us what happened last night."

Hidan scowled, "I was minding my Jashin damn business when I saw the guy get shot by some bitch holding a gun."

The two officers exchanged glances, before the one asking questions leaned forward, "This is very important, what did the person look like? It's crucial that you be honest here, holding back information could be damaging for you… and for the State Alchemist you work for."

'Did he just…? Oh no, he did not fucking pull that card on me…' Hidan wasn't bright, but he wasn't stupid either. This is exactly like what happened when he tried reporting bodies he had found back when he was still lived in Yugakure, they ended up pointing the blame on him*. If he mentioned the description of either woman he had seen, the innocent people would most likely be either arrested or killed. If he reported the woman could change her appearance, then they would think he was insane and point the blame on him. He wasn't from here, he would be a perfect scapegoat, 'Dangerous Foreigner Killed Beloved Soldier'... he could see the headlines now.

Besides, one of the woman's appearances looked like Hughes' wife. Konan would make his life hell if anything happened to her or the kid.

"I don't fucking remember. I was too busy getting shot in the head." The bandages around his forehead were bloodied, most of the wound was already starting to heal, but there was still a hole, "All I know it was a bitch. "

"So it's safe to assume the Blue Rose Alchemist may be a suspect then based on your words? We will be asking more witnesses later, be honest, son."

"I ain't your Jashin damn son and I'm going to give you a big fuck no for Konan. None of us know how to use one of those shits yet. Besides, she was with… the fuck is his name? The beefy guy who likes to take off his shirt. He was teaching her shit." Hidan crossed his arms, annoyed with the questions, "Can I go now?"

Seeing that there were no legal excuses they could use to keep Hidan locked-up, they let him go into Mustang's custody. The tension was thick in the room as Mustang glared at the Jashinist the entire time.

Hidan swallowed, "Look, Mustang-"

"If you value being in one piece you will stay quiet."

Hidan opened his mouth to snap back but kept shut after thinking about it. He really did not want his body to be burned to ash and it wasn't worth arguing with a man who is grieving. So he leaned back into the chair and twiddled his thumbs until the door opened and Konan entered the room.

"Hidan, what did you do?" Konan spoke with a dry tone, annoyed to hear that she left the Jashinist alone for just a few hours and he's already been arrested.

Before Hidan could burst into a rage, Mustang let out a breath, "No, he did nothing wrong actually, but I kept him here to keep others from bothering him. He's the only reason we got to Hughes' body so early…" His voice was void of energy as he rested his forehead against his fist, "Just take him and leave… as a military official, you're allowed to attend his funeral…"

"Thank you, I'm sorry for your loss." Konan spoke stiffly as she bowed and left with Hidan, "I want a full report as to what happened last night, leave no detail."

"There's not much to fucking say, the asshole who shot Hughes is that shapeshifting guy that tried to pretend to be Deidara." Hidan rubbed the back of his neck and popped it with a violent crack sound, "But I know none of these fuckers will believe me and I didn't want to say who he turned into."

Konan froze, "Quiet." She slowly resumed walking after spotting a soldier walking close by, "Come on." Going to the front desk and collecting Hidan's possessions, Konan remained quiet up until they reached the hotel, "Who was he specifically?"

The wires in Hidan's brains slowly began to fry, "Um… fuck, one was a dark-haired chick in the military uniform. You know, the bitch who was with the Elric brats. The other one was his…" He reached into his pocket and pulled out the photograph, "Wow, the asshole shot Hughes while looking like the guy's wife…"

Konan absorbed this information like a sponge, "I'll… inform Mustang about this… after he finishes grieving." Now this begged the question of why did the homunculus kill Hughes? It didn't make sense unless the soldier found something out that they wanted to keep hidden… but what? "Sasori… while I'm at the funeral, go to the library Hughes was last in and examine what he may have been researching." With that, she began to head out.

Sasori turned his attention to Konan, "Where are you going?"

The kunoichi let out a sigh, "I'll need proper funeral attire."

 _Sometime later_

The sky should never be blue during funerals…

That is all Konan could think to herself as she watched military officials carry Hughes' coffin to the hole in the ground and slowly lower it in. Must they make it such a large event? Must they promote him after death, when that title means nothing to the dead? With each shot fired from the ceremonial guns, Konan couldn't help herself but reflect on all of the bodies she and her friends had to bury in the Akatsuki's early stages. It all started with their dog, and soon the count grew and grew until… until Yahiko's life ended. As much of a pain the Akatsuki now have been… she didn't want to think about putting any of them underground, no matter how evil they may be.

"Mommy…? Why are they putting dirt on daddy?"

Konan felt a sharp intake of breath pass through her as Gracia tried to explain what was going on, but nothing made sense to the little girl. Of course it wouldn't, she's 3. Konan turned her head slightly to watch Gracia pick up her daughter, each outcry felt like a knife plunging into everyone's hearts.

"Daddy said he has a lot of work to do! If he's buried he can't go to work! Stop burying him!" The pleas fell on deaf ears as more and more dirt fell onto the coffin.

With her heightened ears, Konan heard the sound of metal shaking. On the other side of the hole was Bradley, hands clutching his sword so tightly that they shook, 'Disgusting…' Konan thought to herself when she realized why he was shaking, 'She's a child, let her express herself…' It was rare moments like these were Konan felt the desire to maim someone. Not kill, oh no, not in the slightest. But Bradley could learn some humility being hospitalized for a few days.

The funeral ended as fast as it started and Konan walked with Gracia and Elicia. The poor girl rested her head on her mother's shoulder, tears pricking her eyes, "When can daddy come out…?" Her voice was hoarse from shouting.

Konan sighed and looked towards Gracia, "May I talk with Elicia for a little while? I'll bring her home before sunset." Gracia hesitated, not expecting such a request, but with reluctance, she kissed Elicia on the head before passing her over to Konan. The kunoichi felt that it would be better to give Gracia some time to think about things without worrying about her daughter. Let her be a grieving wife now and she can be a mom later when she's let her heart settle.

Adjusting the little girl so she was being carried at the hip, Konan went to a nearby place that sold ice cream and bought a cone for her and Elicia. Strawberry for the girl, and vanilla for her. Taking her to a park, Konan sat down next to her and quietly allowed the both of them to eat the cold treats.

"... When can daddy come home…?"

There it was, the big question, "He's not going to return sweetheart, he's dead…"

Elicia paused, taking another lick of her ice cream, "Dead?"

How is she going to explain this to her? Konan witnessed death first hand from her parents, but she was what…? 9? Maybe younger? This would be hard but… wait, this world's religions, "He's become an angel, Elicia." That registered in the little girl's mind.

"B-but, daddy said he would always be there! Why would he become an angel?" Tears formed in her eyes again as her mind slowly wrapped around this.

Konan hummed, "Well… things happen in life and sometimes… people get hurt, and then they are not able to feel better. That is how people die… but you know…" She had to hold in her smile when Elicia's eyes grew big, "I heard that if someone was really good in their life, they become a guardian angel. And then their job is to protect someone important."

Elicia tilted her head, "So daddy has work still?"

"Yes, I believe so… and if I'm to bet anything, he'll do everything he can to become your guardian angel. So even if you cannot see him, hear him, or feel him, I believe he is with you and will watch you grow up to be strong." Watching her eyes grow large and shiny made it worth it for Konan, even if she really didn't believe it herself. It gives the small girl hope.

Once their ice cream was finished, Konan took Elicia home where Gracia was waiting to accept her daughter with open arms and a long hug, "Mommy, big sister here said that daddy is an angel and he'll watch over me! So he's always going to be here!" Elicia wrapped her arms around her mother's neck in a tight hug, unaware of what was going on around her.

Gracia's eyes watered as she gave Konan a grateful smile. With a quiet nod of thanks, she watched the kunoichi leave the apartment and allow the small family to be a form of comfort for each other.

* * *

 **I know, I had HIDAN of all people react to Hughes' death, but no one else would actually react to his death in an expressive manner. But other than that, I wanted to add some moments to give Gracia and Elicia some screen time and development, we know so little about those two that putting Konan with them gave me the chance to show off why Hughes adored his family so much.**

 **I chose to split the Akatsuki the way I did the same way Konan explained it plus the fact that by being in Central, I can work on Hidan and Sasori one-on-one. That and also Deidara and Itachi could potentially have some interesting interactions with each other due to their tense relationship. Either way, they all split and I'm going to have fun with it.**

* I got this information from Hidan's wiki page and it's apparently part of one of the light novels. I consider the light novels to be canon to the Narutoverse so I included it, plus it's one of the few pieces of information we got about Hidan's past… yeah, that guy needs all the backstory he can get.

 **Next chapter will be the Elric brothers and the two Akatsuki members going to Rush Valley… get ready for some explosions… and arm wrestling.**

 **As always, reviews are loved and I will see you guys in the next chapter.**

 **Bye!**


	9. New Life

**Just some normal story progression, nothing big. This has some character development for Deidara and Itachi though. Pain in the butt to read to my beta, felt like I was reading a tongue-twister with some of the ways the words bounced.**

 **Also just a heads up, some of these characters' names will look weird, that is because I'm going with the wikipedia's spelling of the names and sticking to that… despite how odd they may look.**

 **Thank you all for favoriting, following and reviewing, I appreciate the support!**

 **Greer123: You're welcome, hope you enjoy this chapter as well. Trust me, it's less sad.**

 **Soulfire47: Sasori won't be showing off his puppet body or his puppet jutsus for a while, at least not until he sees something as a real threat. But it will happen eventually.**

 **Jojobrn: It's really hard to keep Hughes' death serious when Hidan is the one commentating and reacting to it. But it was either him or someone that would have no true emotional reaction to his death, that or they would have gotten injured from Envy.**

 **princessbinas: Them being together for this part of the story is more of actually trying to make them get along. While it will take some time I do have plans later on for how they treat each other. And don't worry, I'll do my best to make sure the jokes are timed right.**

 **Greggreg: Thanks for the support!**

 **Warning: Language (not as bad as usual), some violences, birth, it's the Rush Valley episode, not much to worry about. Also, I had to delete a review because they decided to yell about how I was giving the Akatsuki more humanity… um… yeah, these characters will be OOC, don't like, don't read. I'm more than willing to delete reviews if they decide to flame like that. I want well-rounded characters that I can actually use.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or FMAB.**

* * *

 _With the Elric brothers and the Akatsuki_

Winry clapped with utter glee as the group walked around Rush Valley. Automail was everywhere. Every shop, every window, and nearly every person had some form of mechanical body part being displayed for the world to see. In fact, at a glance, unless they were a tourist, everyone that didn't have automail carried tools. In some ways, it almost looked as if any other form of trade was discouraged minus a single food market that was kept to the side of the town.

"Sasori-no-Danna would have a field day in this town, un…" Truth be told, Deidara was fascinated by the uniqueness of the town and was struggling to absorb the energy everyone seemed to have. While the craft was more of the puppet master's style, Deidara had to admire the detail of each part. Though he didn't understand why Winry was running around squealing about each automail she sees, they all looked the same to him, even with the ones with claws- wait, what the fuck?! That guy has claws! "How easy is it for people to lose their limbs? Half of the town uses automail, un..." Sadly, his question was met with silence.

"Winry… we need to head to Dublith, why are we stopping here?" Ed spoke with a mix of amusement and annoyance while watching the girl spring around like a happy grasshopper. Granted, he did agree to stop here for her, but he was getting antsy and wanted to meet his teacher as soon as possible.

"Because!" Winry slammed her hands on her hips, "Rush Valley is the top producers of automail! If you want upgrades to your arm and leg, I need to see the masters at wor- aaahhhh! It's a Gotts eleventh year model! This is the best day ever, I never thought I would see this in person!" Sparkles shined around her as she admired the arm in the display window.

Itachi had to strain himself to keep a smirk from forming, everyone has to have their passions and hers happens to be automail, "Are automails actually that strong compared to natural human limbs?" The party -minus Deidara- stopped for a moment to give him questioning gazes, "Even with the strength of metal on their side, if the wielder lacks the proper coordination then the arm is as useful as a normal arm, right?" He's been wanting to test their strength ever since he noticed how heavy Ed's footfall is with his automail leg. Could the metalic limbs surpass chakra one day, or are they bound to fail like everything else?

Winry leaped in front of the Uchiha with fiery eyes, "Of course they're strong!" Itachi slowly leaned back as the smaller girl got closer, "As long as the mechanic puts their heart and soul into the materials," and closer, "And creates their own designs to fit the wearer-" until she was pretty much nose to nose with him, "Then they can even surpass human limbs!"

Blinking a few times, Itachi nodded in a slow but dumb fashion to hopefully calm Winry enough to back away from him. He looks over his shoulder slightly to give a half-assed glare at Deidara, who was snickering at the Uchiha's discomfort.

"Hey, kid with the dark hair!" Everyone looked over to see a crowd standing by a table, "You think automail is weak? With your scrawny arms? Then how about you challenge our champ here in an arm wrestling match!" The crowd made various sounds of cheers and teasings as the one talking pats the arm of a man with two massively built automail arms. The automail wearer flexes his clawed fingers as he stared the Uchiha down, daring him to take the bait.

At first, Itachi really didn't have much interest in arm-wrestling, but considering this could give him valuable information on the physical prowess of the Amestris people… why not? Without a word, Itachi sat down across from the much larger man and rested his right elbow on the table, "I accept your challenge."

"Um, Mr. Itachi, are you sure you want to do this?" Al was sweating figurative bullets as he noticed the size differences; the other man's arms were almost as large as his brother's own body! He was worried that Itachi could seriously get hurt if things go wrong- why is Deidara not helping him in arguing?! Oh right… they don't like each other...

"I'll be fine, Alphonse. Please do not worry about me." Itachi didn't even blink when he locked hands with the other man, nor did it phase him when the crowd joked about going easy on the "little guy". All he focused on was his opponent.

"Begin!"

The automailed guy almost instantly used his entire strength to push on Itachi's arm. But to the shock of everyone, including the Akatsuki's companions, Itachi's arm barely moved. It may have tilted ever-so-slightly to the side, but other then that, nothing.

'So… I only need a little bit of chakra to overpower even this man? I'll need to spar with Armstrong one day.' Itachi mused to himself as he scanned the crowd, which did not go unnoticed by his opponent whose rage slowly began to build. But Itachi was focused on a girl in cargo pants skipping along and swiftly taking things from the pockets of tourists. Oh? A pickpocket taking advantage of the crowd? We can't have her take any of their stuff now, can we? He quickly returned his full attention to the match, 'Time to end this, I'm getting bored.'

Deidara noticed the girl as well and was quick to shove his hands in his clay pouches when she reached in, giving her a nip from his hands. He gave her a mean-spirited smirk as she paled and yanked her hand away, "Try again some other time kid, un." His head snapped back to the table to see Itachi slam the man's arm down to the table with a harsh thud, bits of metal flying off from the sheer force. Deidara let out a whistle and examined Itachi's face, "Wow, not even using your sharingan… I have to admire that, Uchiha."

"I only use the sharingan when in serious combat or under threat… this was neither." Itachi fixed his sleeves, not noticing the crowds bafflement or the raised eyebrow his temporary partner was giving him, "I never waste my eyes for anything."

Deidara blinked a few times as his mind began to wonder. So… when they first met… Itachi saw him as a potential threat? No, that can't be, the bastard looked down at his art. He was sure of it! But… then again… if Itachi really does see him as an opponent to be cautious around… wonder what would happen if-

"It's gone!" Deidara's thoughts were cut short when Ed shouted in panic as he frantically patted all of his pockets, "My State Alchemist watch is gone!"

Without warning, the Akatsuki members made a beeline for the pickpocket girl, skillfully weaving through the crowd with inhuman dexterity. It would be troublesome to deal with the lack of a watch considering that seems to be the ONLY form of identity the State Alchemists have. No photographic evidence, no alchemist evidence, just a stupid watch. The Akatsuki have more identification than these alchemists, and they're wanted in all of the 5 Great Nations!

The others chased after the Akatsuki, not really understanding why the two suddenly ran but trusted them enough to follow their lead. Eventually, they found themselves in a hot, dry cavern-type area, losing the Akatsuki at some point and having to ask some locals where to go. The pickpocket was a woman named Paninya, and she lived out in a house owned by a mechanic named Dominic.

"How can anyone live in a place this hot…?" Winry was soaked in her own sweat as the sun's rays hit on her skin, "They said Dominic lives here because of the rare ores found here, but this is ridiculous…"

Ed had to agree, "Yeah… but we have to get that watch ba-" A sudden explosion interrupted Ed's train of thought, "Huh?!"

Looking down from the side of the cliff, a large white bird flew after another figure at high speed, carrying two… people on its back?

Al pointed at the bird, "It's Deidara and Itachi!" and he was right. Itachi was calmly sitting on the back of the bird while Deidara had his hands in the pouches he always wears. Pulling his hands out, the group watched as half a dozen birds seemed to spew out of his hands and fly after Paninya. Before anyone could question what the birds were for, they exploded one by one near the girl as she gleefully dodged each one.

"Stay still you brat, un!"

"This is so cool! Keep it up, keep it up!"

"AAAAHHHHH! HE'LL DESTROY THE WATCH!" Ed clapped his hands together to shoot out cylindrical piles of rock so he could efficiently chase after the Akatsuki and the pickpocket, Al and Winry trying to keep up, "Whatever you're doing, quit using it!"

Deidara barely looked at Ed before throwing yet another bomb towards the girl, "Are you nuts? This is the first time in almost a month that I could use my art without restriction, un!" It didn't help the fact that Itachi gave up on convincing the blond to not kill her after engaging in combat and she stole his necklace because he didn't want to use his sharingan. No one… touches… his necklace.*

'So this is his jutsu… or… at least I think it is... ' Ed growled in annoyance once he realized that the other blond wasn't using alchemy but instead something from the bomber's original world, 'He can break the laws of equivalent exchange with that technique and cause explosions in the process… great.' Now he had to keep his distance to ensure HE didn't get blown up from the explosions. But how was Paninya avoiding all of the blasts?!

Paninya's eyes lit up seeing the ground around Ed moved, "So cool! Try to keep up!" Jumping over a ledge, she was caught by Al who had set a trap for her and found herself in an alchemist birdcage.

Deidara landed his bird, grumbling in annoyance, "Ruining my fun…" He didn't even wait for Itachi to hop off the bird before making it vanish in a poof of smoke. Of course, the Uchiha saw it coming and easily landed on his feet, "Alright girl, hand over the watch and neckla-!" He quickly covered his face with his arms to protect himself from debris as Paninya used her bladed leg to cut open the cage.

Itachi quickly grabbed Deidara's arm to yank him out of the way as Paninya bent her knee to shoot out a blast from her other leg. She would have escaped had Winry not grabbed her with a vice grip, refusing to let her go until she looked at the automail. The declaration was enough to make the Elric brothers slide on the ground in a faceplant.

The small house nearby slowly opened its door to reveal a man and a very pregnant woman, "Oh… did you bring friends over, Paninya?"

"Ehhh…" Paninya sweatdropped as the girl in front of her was jumping, "Not exactly…"

Despite this, the group was invited in and Winry quickly got to work in examining the automail, much to Paninya's discomfort. The Akatsuki slowly began to stop paying attention after realizing that Deidara would not be able to use his art anytime soon and Itachi would have to wait to get his necklace back. Of course, Itachi attempted to be polite by talking to the family, but Deidara preferred to stare at a wall for the time being… It's a nice wall.

 _Sometime later_

The rain began to pour as time went on, and Deidara was lost in his own little world. He was pretty sure everyone was in the workshop area, but he lost track after almost completely shutting off his sensing. Someone sitting nearby him snapped him out of it though, and he found the pregnant woman, Satella, sitting in a chair and rubbing her round belly.

Awkwardly, Deidara stared at her, not sure what to say to the soon-to-be mother. A part of him wanted to step outside and enjoy the rain, but another part of him wanted to ask her questions.

"Is that… a baby?" That wasn't Deidara. Al entered the room, dragging his depressed brother over to her, "Can I touch your belly?" Deidara observed as Satella nodded and helped the brothers lay their hands on her stomach, Ed's face reflecting for both of them by his eyes widening. What's so impressive about a pregnant stomach?

Satella looked over to the other blond, who was staring at them with a bewildered expression, "Would you like to feel as well?" She smiled in sincere amusement as the taller teen robotically walked over, "Here…" She gently took his hand, noticing that he flinched when she felt a slit on his palm but ignored it to place his hand on her stomach.

A heartbeat. Deidara's sensitive shinobi senses felt the heartbeat of an infant, there was life in that stomach and it was moving in its protective barrier. Such a fragile thing that could end in a fleeting moment… what an odd thought. He was the last to touch the stomach and the first to pull away, not staying long enough to hear the brothers' musing. He couldn't look away from his hand, as the feeling of the heartbeat lingered in his palms, slowly flexing his hand. He didn't realize that someone was in his way until he bumped into Itachi.

Itachi slowly blinked and looked at him, noticing how Deidara was staring at his hand, "I had a similar feeling when my mother was pregnant… it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience." Feeling Sasuke kick was when it cemented in his mind that a new life was going to enter his own. Now he had to wonder what Deidara was thinking about the experience.

Deidara jolted out of his daze, "Got a sentimental side, Itachi? It's no big deal for me, I just can't stop the heartbeat feeling." Turning his nose in the air somewhat, the bomber briskly walked away from the Uchiha, not even realizing that he openly called Itachi by his first name to his face. He also chose to ignore Itachi stare as he tried to get to the other side of the house, away from everyone, "Gah… the sentimental one is me. This world is making us soft… Not sure if I like it or not..."

Itachi smirked as he unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, feeling the humidity finally get to him, only to pause when he felt something was wrong. Heavy footfall came his way and Edward bolted past him in a panic, Itachi chose to go the opposite way, only to see Alphonse trying to support Satella from falling, "What's going on?"

The woman winced, "The… the baby…"

The house was shortly full of frantic screams.

Itachi quickly helped Alphonse lead the woman to her bed as Dominic left the house on horseback to get a doctor. Of course, the baby decided at that moment that it wanted out NOW, sending everyone but Winry and the Akatsuki into a visual chaotic stream of fear.

"We'll have to do the delivery ourselves!" Winry stood her ground, her own heart hammering in her chest at the idea of bringing life into this world.

Satella's husband Ridel paled, "Do you have any experience in delivering a baby?"

"No, I don't. But like it or not, that baby is going to be born soon, and we need to work together to help it enter the world safely!" Grabbing an apron nearby, she quickly spewed out her orders, "Ed and Al, you two go boil some water! Paninya, find as many towels as you can! We need rubbing alcohol for disinfectant!" Everyone quickly ran around to collect what she needed.

After all of the needed material was gathered, Itachi stood next to Winry, "Winry, allow me to help you in this. I can make sure this goes safely for both the baby and the mother." Winry hesitated but agreed, seeing that her options were limited. He soon followed her with Paninya on their tail, leaving the Elric brothers and Deidara on the opposite end of the door.

The screaming soon followed.

Ed walked back and forth in front of the door, anxiety eating him away as the woman on the other side of the door screamed about how much pain she was in. He wasn't being quiet about it either, putting his entire weight into each step before swinging his body around to repeat the process. Even Al and Deidara were getting antsy just watching the shorter one pace.

The door opened a crack and Ed paused his pacing to look at the door before nearly having a heart attack. Itachi stared at him, sharingan spinning in his eyes, "Please sit down. Your pacing is affecting my concentration. Deidara, you calm down as well, your chakra is nearly overwhelming."

Out of fear for the new sight, Ed plopped down against the wall. Staring at Itachi with wide eyes as the door quickly shut and Satella's screams increased in pain as she had to do another push.

Ed slammed his hands over his ears, feeling useless that he's unable to help, with Al sitting next to him in mute silence. Across from them in the hallway, Deidara was violently molding clay, frustrated that he was stuck in this situation. Suddenly, he smashed the clay into a flat pancake and shoved it into a pouch to feed his hands, "Screw this."

"Huh?" Ed looked up to see Deidara open up a scroll and slam his hand down on it. To the younger's surprise, Deidara's Akatsuki cloak and the Akatsuki straw hats appeared from it, "What are you doing?"

"I'm not going to stand around here while Itachi is in there delivering a damn baby! I'm going to get the mechanic and the doctor, un."

Al shot up to his feet, "You can't! The storm is too strong, you'll get hurt!"

Deidara headed towards the door and threw it open, placing his hat on his head, "Don't underestimate me or my art!" Stepping outside, Deidara looked up at the sky with a smirk. This was considered strong? Please. Amegakure gets worse storms when Pein is in a foul mood. He could fly in his sleep at this rate. Grabbing his scope, Deidara pressed it against his eye and then threw out a bird, taking flight before anyone could stop him.

Inside the birthing room, Winry was slowly coaching Satella in the process. Only occasionally looking away to wipe away some sweat. The baby hasn't crowned yet, but it was sure to slide out eventually.

Paninya was standing over Winry, unsure what to do. When she looked at Itachi, she nearly screamed at the sight of his red eyes. She could have sworn they were black just a few minutes ago!

'Everything is going smoothly, her heart rate is normal, nothing unusual is coming out…' Itachi examined the birth with his sharingan, ready to jump in if Winry needs to stop or if something goes wrong. Being the next heir to the Uchiha clan, Itachi had to go through extensive training as not only a shinobi, but the future clan head and husband to whatever bride he took. As a result… he's had to witness a few births here and there, including the one for his precious brother, Sasuke. They had him leave when Sasuke started to come out, but he was there to support his mother the whole way. Itachi only vaguely paid attention to the fact that others could see his sharingan, but there was no one around for them to tell anyway.

"I see the baby's head!"

 _The slowest hour to pass by_

They did it.

Ed and Al stood in the doorway to see Ridel clean up the baby in the warm water, Itachi having reheated it with his chakra. It was a healthy boy, lungs full of oxygen as it cried, only settling when it was swaddled and return to his mother.

"This is awesome! It's a new life! So cool!" Ed couldn't properly articulate words at this point, joy flooding through him. Out of everything alchemy could create, this was the one thing that was impossible to achieve, no matter how advanced the formulas got.

Winry let out a sigh, not only of relief but also because of Ed's newfound energy, "Ed… could you… help me up…?" Exhaustion overwhelmed her body as adrenalin left her now that the situation ended. She soon found herself being given a piggyback ride by Ed.

The front door suddenly threw itself open and Dominic, a doctor and Deidara rush into the room. Everyone was soaked to the bone, but the doctor made quick work to examine the baby to ensure it was healthy.

Deidara craned his neck to look at the newborn, before looking over at Itachi, "... um…" He hesitated, almost struggling to find words, "You did a good job… for an Uchiha, un." The bomber had to add the last bit in for the sake of his own ego.

Itachi didn't think much of the final comment, but instead nodded in acknowledgment, "It was a smart idea to collect them, your jutsu is handy in emergency situations." His attention returned to the new parents, resting his tired eyes from using his sharingan for over an hour. He did not have the stamina for using it for that long.

 _The next day_

'This is disturbing…'

The Akatsuki watched as Dominic went from a gruff old man to an overly doting grandfather seemingly overnight. With the baby getting a clean bill of health from the doctor and after a few feeds, the baby was content with his life and absorbing the attention he was receiving.

Ed leaned towards Dominic, hoping to take advantage of the man's blissful state, "You know… maybe you could reconsider your answer to Winry on taking an apprentice…?" Of course, Ed never really had the best charisma when it came to persuading people to do what he wanted.

"I said I don't take apprentices…" Dominic paused, placing a hand on his chin, "But… if you come here to visit my grandson… then I can't stop you from watching me work." A ghost of a smile formed when Winry cheered, "I'll also recommend you to another skilled mechanic to work under him. He's a little off, but I can vouch for his skills."

Winry clapped her hands together with a grin, "Thank you!" Before doing a happy dance on the spot, "Ed, I'll be staying in Rush Valley, you two be careful on your way to Dublith, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll call you if I need any more repairs." Ed skillfully dodged the wrench that was thrown at him, "Don't worry, I'm not going to break your work this time around."

Itachi raised an eyebrow at that. He would have spoken, but Paninya approached him, "Umm… Itachi… right?"

"Correct. May I help you?"

Paninya fidgeted, "Can I talk to you in private?" Of course, now everyone was watching.

Itachi saw no reason to argue, following the girl outside, he looked down at her as she seemed to grow more and more nervous, "What is it?"

Paninya reached into her pocket and pulled out his necklace, "Um… I'm sorry for taking this… here." She hands the Uchiha his necklace, yanking her arm away afterward like she was burnt. That did not go unnoticed.

Itachi blinked before quickly tying the necklace around his neck. Once satisfied that the simple jewelry was back where it belonged, now it was time for interrogations, "You saw my eyes yesterday." The fearful look in her eyes was enough to prove that point, "I'm not going to hurt you Paninya… my eyes are… a special case that runs in my family. It allows me to copy and see all movement, I used them to make sure the baby was born without complications."

Paninya nodded, a little too fast for the Uchiha's liking.

"Please… keep it to yourself. Others may have caught glimpses of it in the past but for the safety of my comrades I'm not allowed to speak of my abilities in detail…" He didn't want to use any jutsu on her to keep her quiet, not only because she was a legitimately nice girl, but also Itachi didn't know how well certain jutsu affect the people in this world. He didn't know if memory suppression jutsus would harm her mind, or make the Akatsuki be viewed as more of a threat. Overall, it wasn't worth the risk.

Paninya bit her lips, before breaking into a smile, "Sure, I can keep your secret. You helped us deliver Satella's baby, so you're not all that bad!" She gave him a thumbs up before hopping back into the house. If only she knew the truth.

The Akatsuki and the brothers soon said their goodbyes and headed straight for the trains. The ride was relaxing, the brothers noticing the lack of tension between Deidara and Itachi compared to before. It was enough for everyone to enjoy the ride in peace.

Reaching Dublith, a thought came to Deidara, "So what is your teacher like anyway, un?" This entire time while traveling, the brothers only referred to the person as "teacher", no name or signs of gender pronouns anywhere. Naturally, he was curious to know what kind of person they were like.

Ed placed a hand on his chin, "Teacher is… well…" He paused, shivered then kept walking as he thought about it. He seemed to have forgotten to answer the question as he nervously began to knock on the door to a butcher shop.

Deidara and Itachi exchanged glances, what exactly is this person like? The boys seemed to have high amounts of both respect and fear for their teacher, that was obvious enough. Maybe it was someone like Armstrong? Nah… too happy. Mustang? Too much of an asshole. Maybe their teacher is-

The door suddenly was kicked open, sending the brothers to the ground, "How dare you show your face here after becoming a dog to the military, Edward!"

A woman?

* * *

 **I know, I ended it just before one of the most badass characters in the show could have a proper introduction, I'm an evil author. Anyway, as I mentioned before, this chapter more served as a way to loosen the hostility between Deidara and Itachi and bring them one step closer to seeing each other as buds… hopefully. Depends on how I write them later on.**

 **Also, Ed will ask Itachi about his sharingan later. He was too focused on the newborn baby to remember about the eyes, but once he remembers about it, there will be questions.**

*They literally never explain why Itachi wears that necklace all the time after joining the Akatsuki, so I took some creative liberties with its symbolism. Because it has 3 beads, I like to think that it represents the members of his immediate family (his parents and Sasuke) as it could be his way of keeping thoughts of them close. It could just be a simple necklace, but the fact that he's the only Akatsuki member to keep something from their original person after being reanimated has to mean SOMETHING.

 **Next chapter will have Izumi being introduced to the Akatsuki members… along with a certain fan favorite homunculus coming by to say hello.**

 **As always, reviews are loved and I will see you guys in the next chapter.**

 **Bye!**


	10. Cooking and Questions

**Sorry for being late with this one but now we can finally let the Akatsuki meet Izumi!**

 **Thank you all for the fave, follows and reviews!**

 **princessbinas: I try to resist infants, pretty easy when they don't care much for my existence anyway. XD**

 **Greer123: Sorry for the wait!**

 **I'm Da Bomb: There's the fact that if they kept it a secret the entire time from the Elric brothers specifically, it would have limited their chances of them actually helping the Akatsuki. This at least ensures that the Akatsuki can use their jutsu around them with limited questions.**

 **RimK10: Glad you liked the fight!**

 **Warning: Language, minor violence, breaking of the fourth wall (kinda, not really, my beta thinks so), some silly but awkward moments between Deidara and Itachi.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or Naruto.**

* * *

Deidara shot a hand to his exposed eye to double check what he was seeing. A dark-haired woman with dreadlocks kicked Ed across the street, almost scolding him for becoming a State Alchemist. When she turned to face Al, her face lit up with some… some form of emotion that Deidara couldn't pick up. It wasn't until she grabbed the suit of armor by the wrist and flung him to the ground did he realize that the emotions she was showing were disappointment.

"You two have been slacking in your training!" Izumi crossed her arms in disapproval as her students slowly approached her, one rubbing his head to feel for bumps, "Just because you joined the military it doesn't mean you can get away with becoming lazy."

"Sorry about that… umm... Teacher, is it a good idea for you to be out of bed?" Terrified as he is, Al always made sure his teacher felt well enough to walk around.

"Forget about my health! The only reason why I'm up is that I heard you two were here- bleeehhhhh" Suddenly a mini waterfall of blood poured out of her mouth in an almost comical fashion, earning panicked screams from the Elric brothers.

Izumi's husband Sig rushed to her side and helped her clean her face. The two shared a loving hug while the Akatsuki stood by the fence, watching the display with slowly frying brains. It didn't help that cute pink hearts began to fly from the couple, a few smacking the Akatsuki teens in the face as well as the brothers. Well… at least they have a happy marriage?

Of course, their staring didn't go unnoticed, "Hm? Who are they?" Izumi questioned with a tilt of her head. They didn't look familiar to her and she knows these boys, they often keep to themselves and don't spend time with people their age.

Al straightened up, "Oh! They're um… uh…" How could he word this whole thing to his teacher? They weren't exactly friends, but he couldn't just say they were mercenaries. If teacher got this furious from his brother joining the military… hellfire would rain from above if she thought they hired mercenaries.

Itachi took a step forward and bowed, "My name is Itachi Uchiha, I'm one of the bodyguards for another State Alchemist. We're from Xing so the Elric brothers were letting us tag along so we could learn about the country and its alchemy." He straightened up to offer his hand, "Sorry for the intrusion."

Izumi smirked and accepted his hand, obviously calling bullshit on the story, "It's no trouble. And whose the blond?"

Deidara awkwardly shuffled over but doesn't offer his hand, "Deidara."

There was a long pause as Izumi's eyebrow slowly raised at an almost painful rate. Quite the polar opposites these two are, "Deidara…?"

The bomber shook his head, "No family name, never had one, un." He only offered his hand when Itachi retracted his own.

"Izumi Curtis and the loveable fellow behind me is my wonderful husband, Sig." She noticed the slightest hitch in Itachi's breathing that she almost missed had it not been for the close proximity. Hm… she'll need to talk to these two later, it wouldn't be any good if it turned out that they were causing problems for her students, "Well, come inside and we can talk there."

The group followed Izumi into a modest dining room, not much to look at and the Akatsuki stuck close to the exit. Deidara leaned over to Itachi while Izumi spoke to the brothers, "Something's off about her, un." He spoke in a hushed whisper, too quiet for a non-shinobi to hear.

This was new, Deidara usually keeps to himself rather than tell anything to anyone, let alone Itachi, "What makes you think that?" He eyed the group at the table, they were talking about the baby and Izumi had looked at them several times.

Deidara clicked his tongue, "The way she breaths and the sudden coughing of blood… I'm not a medic but that is not normal for a woman her age. That should have killed her years ago, un." He crossed his arms with a nod, positive in his statement despite what was going on in the Uchiha's head.

'The same with mine… yet here I am breathing…' Itachi held his tongue but a quick flare of chakra confirmed Deidara's statement, something was wrong with Izumi's body. He should have picked up basic medical ninjutsu had his own chakra reserves been anything but less than average.

"Hohenheim." The Akatsuki snapped their heads to the table when Ed and Al gasped, Ed's automail arm clanked as he gripped his fist in frustration. So, the brothers have a history with someone named Hohenheim?

Deidara piped in, "Who is that?"

"He's our father…" Al provided the answer while looking over to his brother with concern as Ed seemingly revisited the ghosts of their past, 'Brother…"

"That bastard… he's the reason mom died…"

Deidara shifted uncomfortably in his shoes, "I'm going to call Konan, let her know we made it to Dublith… Miss. Izumi?" Izumi looked up to the teen, "Do you have a phone I can use, un?"

"A phone? Yes, it's in the front of the store. Would you show him it, dear?" Izumi grinned at her husband. Sig gave a nod of confirmation before pushing himself up and leading Deidara out of the room, but not before the blond paused and gave Ed an odd look. The look only lasted for a moment, but it was enough for Itachi to notice.

Seemingly having enough of Ed sucking up all of the happiness in the room, Izumi slammed her hands on the table, startling the brothers, "We are going to eat! We are going to eat, talk and be happy with the lives we currently have and you are going to like it!" She looked to Itachi, "Will you and the other one be joining us?"

Itachi nodded, "Yes, let me help." He pinched the cuffs of his button up and rolled up his sleeves to his elbows, "I may not look it, but I use to cook meals for my… family. I'm quite good." If Izumi noticed the pause, she didn't make any comments.

"I'll be the judge of that. Come on!"

Within an hour the table was covered in simple yet elegant dishes that… sparkled. Almost everyone in the house stared at the food, then at Itachi.

"Is food supposed to sparkle like this?" Ed examined his steak with suspicion, eyebrow raised to his hairline. There must have been something alchemically done to the food to make it look like this.

Deidara didn't even blink at the shine before grabbing his utensils and smoothly cutting the meat like rich butter, "It always looks like this when Itachi cooks, un." Taking a bite he hummed in bliss, "Yep, you haven't lost your touch, Uchiha."

Now Ed was glaring at Deidara, "I thought you hated him, why eat his cooking?"

"Because I know when good food is placed in my face." The bomber stuck his nose in the air, "Cooking can be an art too." It wasn't any of Ed's business to know that Konan made everyone except Pein and Zetsu learn how to cook. It wasn't a surprise to anyone that Itachi was already skilled in the kitchen, but it was a shocker when Tobi proved to be just as good… though the food never sparkled. Not to brag but Deidara can make some pretty damn good desserts.

'Hm… so these two don't think highly of each other.' Izumi mused to herself before looking to Al, "Are you not going to eat?"

"Oh! I had a big lunch on the train ride here, I'm good!" The poor boy nearly had a figurative heart attack at the question. But his reaction was enough to cause Izumi's eyes to squint into a minor glare. She's known these boys since they were small, complimented with her large bullshit detector… something was up, and she was determined to figure it out… after dinner.

Ed finally took a bite after seeing Deidara and Itachi already enjoying their meal, "How can this be any different from normal fo-" The moment Ed took a bite, his mouth began to water and a groan of pure pleasure escaped his throat, "How is this…?"

Itachi hid a smirk behind his wrist as he chewed, finishing the bite with a swallow, "Trick my mother use to teach me, my little brother didn't like beef until I cooked it."

Deidara snorted, "Yeah- …" He inhaled and resumed his meal, 'Gah… no point making a snide comment now. I'll save them for later…' Not to mention, what would benefit him pointing out how Itachi was one of the last Uchiha besides making himself look like the ass. Nothing, that's what.

After dinner, Izumi insisted on taking care of the dishes, going as far as to literally kick Itachi in the butt to make him leave the kitchen. She allowed him to help her cook, but she'd be damned as the proud housewife she was if she let a guest clean. But once the boys were up in bed… or at least she HOPED they were in bed, she had some investigating to do.

"I want to have a word with you two." Izumi placed her hands on her hips as the Akatsuki had turned to leave the house for the night, "Have a seat. I'll make us something to drink."

Itachi sat politely in the same chair Ed had just used hours before and getting a clear view of Izumi preparing drinks. Deidara, however, chose to focus on a ball of clay he was working on. Curiosity took over and the desire to figure out what was in it so when the time came, he could make more using alchemy. Naturally, his attention only wavered when the smell of a familiar bitter liquid reached his nose.

Izumi laid down two cups, pouring the black liquid into them before serving herself a small portion of it. It was late after all and coffee wasn't exactly ideal for her health. But no adult could resist coffee, even in the dark hours of the night.

The moment she took a sip, Deidara grabbed his cup and smirked, 'Hell yeah… and Danna isn't here to stop me! Forget alcohol, this stuff has a better kick!' Tilting the cup slightly, Deidara closed his eyes and attempted to take a sip of the coffee.

Keyword "attempted".

Instead of a hot liquid, all Deidara felt against his lips were fingers. Snapping his eyes open with an annoyed grunt, he looked down and his brain only registered two things: purple nail polish and a bright red Akatsuki ring. Eyes began following the fingers to the owner's hand… arm… shoulder… and finally, face… damnit.

He was kissing Itachi's fingers.

It was as if a force threw Deidara backward as he flung himself from his chair and away from Itachi. Said Uchiha skillfully grappled the cup, preventing coffee from spilling out and blankly watching the younger male slowly realize what just happened.

"What the hell, Uchiha?!" He was not blushing, he was trying not to strangle Itachi with all his might thank you very much!

Itachi slowly blinked, setting the cup down onto the table, "Sasori does not want you drinking coffee… and frankly, I'm not that patient enough to deal with you hyper." He had to admit, it was amusing watching Deidara sputter and hiss like a wet cat, satisfying even.

"Bastard…" Grumbling, Deidara returned to his seat and crossed his arms, avoiding eye contact with both Itachi and Izumi.

Okay, Izumi had to let out a laugh, "Well, that removed one of my worries!" The two stared at her, "You two were so stone-faced and quiet the entire visit, naturally I wanted to make sure neither of you were putting my students in any danger."

Itachi raised an eyebrow, "We would never intentionally put them in danger, our orders from our superior was to protect them. They get in enough trouble by themselves."

"Oh, I am well aware, but that doesn't stop me from being cautious. If they get hurt because of something they did, then they need to face the consequences… but I will not tolerate others harming them. You understand?" She received two nods, "Good… now, you two have some explanations to present."

The woman smirked and rested her chin against her fist, "There is the fact that you two are not from Xing." The Akatsuki tensed, "For one, your names are not like those from Xing. 'Deidara', 'Itachi Uchiha', they do not fit their cultural alphabet. Not to mention everyone from Xing… at least the ones that can afford to cross the desert, have a family name. Lastly…" She jabbed a thumb towards Deidara, "Blond."

A loud thump was heard as Deidara's forehead collided with the table. Of course, everyone in this world has natural genetically correct looks! They've never seen anyone with blue or green hair… hell, everyone's eye colors are almost always one of three colors. Not to mention if a family photo was ever seen, kids look like their parents! Why did it take so long for someone to question their appearance?

"You know a lot about the country, huh? I'm guessing telling you that Deidara's family is mostly blond would be met with disbelief?" The fact Izumi didn't even blink gave away the answer. Itachi straightened himself out, the temptation to cast a genjutsu on her was strong. But she also wasn't a threat, she had no connection with the military and it's obvious she's not fond of them… what to do…?

Finally, with a reluctant sigh, Izumi leaned back in her chair, "Spill, who are you really?"

Deidara tilted his head, squinting his eyes, "Do you honestly think we'll give up our secrets so easily?"

"No, honestly I would have questioned how stupid you two were if you did. But who is Konan?"

Finally, an easy question, "She's the State Alchemist we guard along with a few others, un." Deidara kept their numbers vague, "The others are with her."

Now it was Izumi's turn to cross her arms, "A female State Alchemist… now that's a rare breed." She paused to cough for a moment before continuing, "Now Itachi, I kept noticing that you would hesitate on certain words… like family… why?"

It was as if walls started closing in on Itachi. Does he tell this random woman something that was common knowledge in the Five Great Nations? The one thing that made him an S-rank? Or should he lie-

"Itachi's family, save for his little brother, were killed less than a decade ago." Itachi eyed Deidara, who was talking in a monotone voice, "He joined our group not long afterwards and I joined less than a year later, un."

Izumi's eyes soften almost instantly, "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have…"

Itachi held up his hand to stop her, "Don't. The story itself is common knowledge where we are from." He didn't mean for his voice to be clipped, but it happened.

Sighing, Izumi pushed herself off her chair and back onto her feet, "I won't ask any more questions, I can tell that you two don't mean any harm for the boys and that's all I care about." She made her way over to the stairs to head to her room, only to pause, "What about your brother?"

The Uchiha finally allowed himself to crack a small smile, "Maybe I'll tell you the whole thing when we meet another time. He's become… an interesting young man." Seemingly satisfied with the answer given, Izumi vanished upstairs.

Deidara slumped in his seat, "She's weird, un."

"Hn."

"Do you really have to respond to everything with that?"

"Does it bother you?"

"Yes, un."

"...Hn."

With a low growl, Deidara shot to his feet and threw on his jacket after noticing the outside air was chill. Itachi followed suit but didn't bother putting on his own coat, perks with having fire chakra in such a harmless environment. The two walked down the darkened street in relative silence as the activity level had dropped down to only the occasional drunkard or businessman returning home late before Deidara had a thought.

"Ever wondered what our lives would have been like had everyone's partners been different, un?" The sudden question made Itachi have a hiccup in his rhythmic steps, making Deidara clarify, "I mean, occasionally the Akatsuki split up or work in pairs of four, but what if we worked with different people?"

Interesting thought. Itachi hummed to himself, "Well… not many can tolerate working with me, I know that for a fact. Kisame and I work so well together I can't imagine being with another partner… hm." He took this time to examine the blond walking beside him, "This would be an interesting combination."

"What would?"

"Sharingan and explosion release. There are many different battle styles that could come with the two working together, not to mention fire chakra compliments explosion chakra in some ways better than fire and water. Though…" Itachi felt eyes on him now, "we would have to work on our indifference between each other if that were to work."

Deidara blinked, "Is that technically what we are doing now though, un?"

"Perhaps, but it would take more than a few days for the past to be let go. I'm well aware that you believe my eyes disrespect your jutsu. If we had become partners that day, I would most likely have to sleep with an eye open at all times… then again Kisame and I were no walk in the park at first either." A weird sound joined together in harmony with a matching tune, only for both to stop when the duo realized they were laughing.

Deidara cleared his throat, "Danna and I didn't get along either-... then again, I don't think we've ever gotten along." He changed the angle of his next step so he could bump shoulders with the Uchiha, "You're honestly not that bad, for an Uchiha of course. Maybe once the year is up and we get home, I'll see if Leader will let us work on missions together. Try out these combos you believe will work with your eyes, un."

"We'll see- wait." He shot his arm out to stop Deidara from walking forward. Activating his sharingan, Itachi pulled a kunai seemingly out of nowhere and threw it in the direction of an alleyway. A shriek was almost instantly heard and the shinobi heard the sound of frantic scuffling, "Come on."

With inhumane -at least in this world- speed the two caught up with their eavesdropper. A small bald man in a beggar's cloak was trying to climb the wall like a lizard, only to be stopped when another kunai nearly impaled his nose, making him lose his grip and fall to the ground. Deidara placed a hand on his hip and stared at the man with interest, "Well… and here I thought we wouldn't see any more chimeras, un." He noted the tail the man had, reptilian if he were to make an educated guess.

Itachi ignored Deidara's comment and took a threatening step closer to the quivering man, "What did you hear?" He didn't plan on hurting the man, but if regular shinobi found the sharingan intimidating, a regular civilian who is an obvious coward would definitely be unable to call a bluff. If he was smart… he would pretend that he didn't hear anything and run off scared.

"N-nothing sirs, I was walking by when I began to hear you two talk! I swear! I didn't hear anything!" It was almost pathetic how quickly he fell into a state of pure fear.

Deidara walked over, now leaning over the man with a sadistic grin and held out his free hand to show off his palm, "I suggest you return to your home… and tell no one of what you have seen. We're not the sort to forgive and forget, un." Timing his words perfectly, Deidara's palm mouth flew open to reveal its long pink tongue and row of shiny white teeth, tiny bits of saliva landed on the strange man's face. The man let out a terrified scream as he ran off, nearly knocking over a trashcan in the process.

Hearing footsteps heading their way, the duo ran up one of the building walls and waited, watching as a few people poked their heads into the alleyway as if expecting a body to be there. Instead, all they got was empty darkness, save for a few rats that scrambled away from the light of one of the men's flashlight. They only jumped down to their original place on the sidewalk when the lights of the buildings nearby went out for the night.

Deidara cracked his neck with a sigh, "Been a while since I got to let loose like that. We've had to keep such a squeaky clean appearance, it feels nice, un."

Itachi deactivated his sharingan, "You do realize that whoever he works for is going to know about us, right?"

The bomber took it upon himself to examine his nails, "I'm hoping for it."

 _The next day_

This was wrong.

Itachi and Deidara watched from the sidelines as Izumi told Ed and Al the story of how she also tried human transmutation. They watched in silence as the brothers' nearly broke down on the spot, as Izumi threw them outside and beaten the two in a senseless brawl… and finally when she held the two in her arms. The concept of something taking your body parts as not only payment but also punishment for playing god is somewhat more baffling than the idea that this world survived without chakra. The two exchanged glances before nodding, might as well… share their own version of human transmutation.

"We actually succeeded in something similar." The trio jolted and looked at Itachi, "Well, not us specifically. One of my home's former leaders created a technique to reanimate the dead."

"And… and he succeeded?" Izumi's voice was breathless, "How…?"

"If it's not obvious enough, we're not from here. We don't have alchemy, but another kind of technique called jutsu and it harnesses the energy within us, eliminating the limitations of alchemy. We can manipulate the soul and put in a host, bringing that person back beyond the grave with all their thoughts intact." Or mostly intact if you exclude what Orochimaru apparently can do, "It's a forbidden jutsu though."

Ed tilted his head, "Forbidden? So it is like alchemy."

Deidara let out a short laugh, "Not even close. Based on what I'm seeing, you guys do it to bring back loved ones. Anyone who uses the reanimation jutsu is doing it to make soldiers. Unstoppable, never tiring, soldiers with the intent to mentally degrade the enemy, un." It reminded him too much of Sasori's puppets, everyone becomes surprised when he shows off the Third Kazekage… not to mention the whole eternal bit.

Itachi eyed Deidara and sighed, realizing that he is the one that will need to explain how the reanimation works, "From what I have read and heard from you Ed, to bring back the dead here requires enough material to make a human body… but to bring someone back with the reanimation jutsu only needs the DNA of the person you are trying to bring back and…"

A pit fell in Ed's stomach and a lump of fear lodged in his throat, "And…?" Please let it be something simple.

"A living person."

Silence. Izumi couldn't look at the Akatsuki anymore as Ed and Al shot up to their feet. The shorter of the two was the one to shout the question, "Why the hell would you use another person to bring back someone?"

If Itachi felt a reaction bubbling inside him, he didn't show it, "It should be obvious, you claim that you could create a human using material from a marketplace but did you even consider that there are some things not obtainable by normal means? Can you truly say that you know every element in the human body? Every cell?" He paused, looking at everyone with subtle shifts of his eyes, "It's one of the few techniques that follows your laws of equivalent exchange by the book. You want a life? You must take a life. There is a reason why it is forbidden."

Deidara nudges Itachi when the tension became unbearable, "Come on, un." He proceeds to drag Itachi away, but paused to look at the brothers, "We won't be far, just yell and we'll show up." The two walked away, leaving the others oblivious to the single crow perched on the rooftop of Izumi's house.

Itachi spoke up once they passed to another street, "Should we have told them?"

"Tch, why not. I just think the whole idea is stupid. What god takes away body parts as punishment?" Deidara paused and rolled his eyes, "Besides Hidan's if Jashin is as fucked up as we're lead to believe, un. Not to mention that it seems to take away parts of the body that symbolize who they bring back. What do you think it would take if we tried the transmutation?"

"..." Itachi looked away to focus on other things. What would it take from him? His tongue so he couldn't apologize and speak his mind? His eyes so he could no longer look at the smiling faces of… who would he bring back? One of his parents? Shisui?

"I personally don't have anyone I would want back. Never knew my parents and anyone else I should consider are still alive and kicking, un I wonder if it could take away our chakra..." Deidara flung his hands behind his head to crack his neck, "You know we're being followed."

Two figures emerged from the darkness, a tall imposing man, and a smaller tomboy woman. Neither one provoked any kind of reaction from the Akatsuki besides a raised eyebrow from Deidara, much to their disappointment.

"Greed wants to… have a chat with you two." The woman had to pause and consider her words.

Neither Deidara nor Itachi looked at each other but they were thinking the same thing, 'A homunculus.' It had to be, based on all of the various books both have skimmed, it was safe to assume that the homunculus are named after the deadly sins. But something seemed off.

"Very well." Itachi spoke with the duo, almost instantly activating his sharingan, "But if you try to attack us, you will regret it." He inched closer to Deidara despite the blond's groan of annoyance. The last time they encountered these guys, Deidara ended up in the hospital. The last thing Itachi wanted was to be held responsible for his partner getting injured.

… Huh… Deidara being his partner… not the worst thing out there.

The strangers flinched at the sight of Itachi's eyes but lead them off anyway, occasionally looking back to make sure they were still following. Based on the types of people they started to see, this was most likely the equivalent to a red light district. The building they entered was called the Devil's Nest, rather uncreative considering it was just some bar. But it was the basement and its inhabitants that really caught their interest.

"So these are the two that Bido spoke about?" A man with spiky hair, sharp spikey teeth and a fur collared vest where the fur was also somewhat spikey approached them with a coy grin, "Minus the cool red eyes you two don't seem to be of much interest."

Itachi tilted his head, contemplating if a genjutsu was needed before snatching Deidara's wrist before he could go for his clay, "Looks can be deceiving. Considering other homunculi we have met you are the only one that could pass as a legitimate human."

An odd noise escaped Greed's throat before he threw his head back to laugh, "Oh, I like you kid. Bido here told me that you guys have some oddities about you, oddities that I want to keep." He shot his hand out to offer a handshake, "My name's Greed. Let's be pals, mkay?"

* * *

 **Side story #2: "Oh no, not here too…"**

Finally feeling like he could relax, Itachi dressed in some sweats and a random shirt he bought back in Resembool. Noting that Deidara has gone to space land in his mind, he quickly took over the bathroom to get ready to sleep. This included a long session of hair brushing and cleaning his teeth, steak really did not like to get out. Once he finally rinsed his mouth, satisfied by the lack of meat in his molars he physically jumped half a foot when his temporary partner let out a yell.

Briskly walking back into the living room of the hotel they were staying in, Itachi was met with a frustrated Deidara, "What happened?" He swirled his head to look at the window, they had sealed the room so no one could hear them and a minor genjutsu was all that was needed to keep their appearances hidden. Nothing seemed to add up to him.

Deidara removed the ribbon from his hair so he could violently tug a hand through his locks, "This damn world has it too, un!"

"Pardon?" Itachi tilted his head in a parrot-like fashion, what existed here that would cause Deidara to get so worked up? … Besides tight laws on any form of pyromania or Tobi suddenly appearing, of course.

"Flashbacks!" Deidara growled as he received a blank stare, "Come on, Uchiha. Haven't you noticed? Sometimes when you fight people everyone just stands still and stares for a solid minute before they continue their actions. Do you know how many times I've been able to kill people because they look like they're suffering major PTSD, un?" He threw his hands up in frustration, "I saw Ed make the same face when I was heading to call Konan, he was remembering something about that Hoen-whatever his name was."

Itachi paused and thought back on this, yes… there have been times where people seemed to space out for a short while only to return to the present with eyes that saw their entire past. He's done it too, sometimes when waiting for Kisame to return he would think back on his family, the good times he's had with Sasuke…

 _Strapping his sandals and getting ready for his mission, Itachi heard the pitter-patter of his brother's bare feet racing over to him, "Nii-san! Can you teach me shuriken jutsu tod-"_

"You're doing it right now, un!"

Itachi instantly snapped out of it when Deidara's voice out-matched his little brother's. Oh great, now he's going to become self-conscious about this. Was this really that common? All Itachi could do was wrap a hand over his eyes and rub his face as a sudden wave of exhaustion hit him like a typhoon, "Let's just… let's just sleep… I don't want to think about this and end up not being at my full mental capacity tomorrow."

"Tell me about it, why did I decide to think about it, un…?" Not bothering to change his clothes, Deidara simply removed his t-shirt and long-sleeve, tossing them to a random spot in the room and took over the couch, "Night, Itachi."

Itachi allowed his eyes to slowly blink as his mind put itself back together. Looking at the blond, he was surprised to see him passed out. So much for this new thought haunting him. Not bothering to return the sentiments to an already sleeping person, Itachi turned on a heel and went to the bedroom… only for another thought to enter his mind.

'There are two beds in this room… why does Deidara insist on the couch?'

* * *

 **The side story was just some fun that I decided to have between Deidara and Itachi, I like that their friendship is slowly forming to where they can have civil conversations now. In any case, I wasn't entirely sure how I was going to have Izumi talk to the Akatsuki since she naturally wouldn't trust them right away; but as I wrote it out I realized that she isn't the type to interrogate people that are not the brothers… also the food part and the coffee part were some of my favorite things to write so far.**

 **I was originally going to do the whole bit with Greed in this chapter, but then this would have taken forever to not only write but also my brain didn't feel like coming up with all the dialogue. Nu uh. Thankfully I'm starting to get use to the idea of writing out unique scenes that divert from the main story, helps with bonding.**

 **As always, reviews are loved and next week will be Greed fully meeting the Akatsuki. I'll see you guys then.**

 **Bye!**


	11. The Devil's Nest

**Wow did this chapter take a while to write and plan out. There was some parts of this that I wasn't sure how I would handle and other parts that I realized that the Akatsuki's existence would change. But I got it done!**

 **Thank you all for the fave, follows and reviews!**

 **RImK10: I am so bad with fights so thank you!**

 **TenViper: Nope, I already established that only these five would be in the FMAB world. Plus from a narrative standpoint, Obito would have more to lose than to gain by going to the FMAB world as it would be too easy for the others to learn the truth and betray him.**

 **Greer123: It's not just a theory, there are substances in our bodies that are impossible to gather in a physical mass (like molybdenum and the poison cyanide) because the traces are so miniscule that we cannot measure it out. Not to mention the obvious missing proteins and the compounds to make fat. The brothers were doomed from the start because they didn't use their mother's actual body and worked with what was missing or used a living person… that and Truth is a jerk.**

 **princessbinas: Oh it teaches them a lot of things, it's just not going to be clear as to what until later.**

 **Warning: Language, violence, gore, deaths, bad jokes**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto or FMAB.**

* * *

Was this guy serious?

Deidara and Itachi blankly stared at the grinning homunculus as the man patiently waited for someone to take his hand. Did he really think they were that stupid? Must be the case based on his grin. They weren't going to shake hands with someone whose physical capabilities they knew nothing of. Considering that female homunculus could shoot out her finger like a blade, for all they knew this guy could turn into a porcupine!

Greed tilted his head, "Hm? Something wrong? Come on, we would be great partners with your uniqueness being used for greater benefits."

This time, Itachi didn't stop Deidara's hand from going into the bomber's clay pouches, eating up clay. Instead, Itachi decided to buy some time, "Actually, we have nothing to gain from working with you, considering our time limit here is one year."

"One year?" Greed parroted like it was a joke, "Are you nuts? Why would you only stay here for such a short amount of time? Come on, it'll be a blast! Think of all of the money and women you'd have by working with me!"

Itachi tilted his head, noting that Deidara had a tiny clay spider climb up Greed's pant leg with relative ease, "The... only woman I would want... is dead."

The other man stared at Itachi awkwardly, "Oh… damn man, that sucks."

"Tell me about it." The two looked at Deidara, "The only time I've been able to learn things that could be used as weaknesses against Itachi have been when I'm under strict orders to not kill him, un!" Greed blinked when Deidara held up a single hand sign and a sudden weight on his shoulder formed, "Too bad for you, I'm under orders to use whatever I deem necessary for our survival." Granted it doesn't really mean that they'll leave unscathed.

Greed looked at his shoulder to see a massive clay spider sitting there, his chimera pals frozen in fear at its sudden appearance, "Wai-"

"KATSU!"

A large boom sound erupted in the echoey room and smoke overcame the air. The chimeras ducked for cover while Itachi had retreated to the ceiling for safety, watching as Deidara was unscathed by the explosion and tilting his head seeing the upper half of Greed's body was gone. At first, he thought that the man would have been killed considering his entire spinal cord and brain were destroyed; but at the first sight of the red electrical sparks flying from his body, the Uchiha was instantly proven wrong.

"Oh come on, un!" Deidara groaned and quickly retreated to the ceiling with Itachi, he quickly pressed a hand against his hair to keep it flat against his neck and away from unwanted hands; bangs included.

Once the muscles formed around Greed's mouth, he spoke, "That. was. AMAZING!" He looked at the pair with a distorted grin as his skin slowly regrew, "You can make explosions without the use of alchemy, I must have your powers for myself, I must have everything you have to offer!"

'I can see why he is Greed…' Itachi mused to himself as he watched the homunculus' body restore itself. Scanning the room, he noticed that many of the chimeras were now gone, "Where are your comrades?"

"Hm?" Greed looked around the room, "They went to go pick up another person of interest."

'Person of interest? But the only person he would be interested in is…' Itachi relinked sights with his crow*, through his bird's eye he saw Alphonse walk away from Izumi's house, "Deidara, Alphonse is leaving the house. He's following some kind of note."

Below them, Greed let out a whistle, "Nice, you two can not only scale walls and ceilings like Bido, but you can see things from far away? Just what else is hidden within you guys?" He leapt up when noticing Deidara was about to bolt and turned his skin into his ultimate armor, letting his claws pierce the ceiling just beside the blond's head, "Now now. Why don't we wait until our other friend is brought here."

"Tch… hey Uchiha, if I blow this place sky high would you be able to get out of here alive, un?"

Itachi blinked with eyes barely wider than before, "You're actually asking for the chances of my survival? I would have thought you would just let me die."

Deidara growled as he glared at Greed, "Don't get the wrong idea, you're still a bastard that I would love to prove my art is more superior than your eyes. But…" He rolled his eyes and looked at Itachi, "You're starting to warm up to me, un."

"Aw how cute, you love birds having a quarrel?" Greed let out a laugh that was cut short when a fist connected with his unprotected face.

"Like hell!" Deidara swiped a leg to knock the homunculus' arm out of the stone, but a sudden pain rushed over his body when his leg connected with it, "Gah!" His chakra focus broke instantly, falling to the ground and landing on the floor harshly, clutching his ankle in pain.

"Now that, was a stupid move kiddo." The iron color skin soon spread throughout Greed's entire body, "Ya see, I'm equipped with the ultimate shield, none of your attacks will hurt me. All you just did was break your ankle- Uhhh, hey blondie, you shouldn't be standing up."

And yet, Deidara was standing with little-to-no issue to be presented, "Heh, don't underestimate me. I've faced worse injuries from basic sparring." Considering everytime he tries to train with Sasori, he's usually bedridden from poisons that make his internal organs feel like they are on fire, this is a cakewalk, "Your 'ultimate shield' at most tenderized my leg, un."

Itachi tilted his head and examined how the blond stood, he was putting less weight on his left leg -the one he kicked Greed with- but was walking with no signs of limping. Good, so Deidara wouldn't be a liability in protecting Alphonse. But he should have someone take a look at that soon.

Greed suddenly paused in his movements and jumped back down to the floor, "You two stay here. I have a kid to recruit." With a nonchalant wave of his hand, Greed undid his shield and left the room to collect Alphonse.

Noting that they were alone, Deidara relaxed his body, "Ow… I'm going to have to keep chakra in my ankle to keep it from swelling. You getting help, un?"

"I'm alerting Edward and Izumi, without writing a physical note or using up too much chakra I'm not able to alert the others back in Central." Itachi sighs as he watches Ed try to attack the overly excited bird, "We'll need to train the brothers on what our forms of communications are. Get your explosives ready."

Deidara smirked and pulled out some chalk, heading to some crates and placing a hand on the nearby wall. There's a connection to the outside here, "I have a better idea."

After a few minutes, the chimeras and homunculus return with Alphonse in tow, his wrists bound with chains. He instantly noticed Itachi and Deidara, "What the- why are you two here?" He was forced to sit down because of Martel controlling his body.

"We were looking to get more information when they approached us, so far they have denied us the ability to leave." Itachi explained cooly while also being naturally intimidating with his sharingan. This was the first time Al could actually look at the red eyes, leaving more questions than answers as to what they were. Jutsu of course, but it's obvious Deidara didn't have eyes like that, "To ruin the surprise for you Alphonse, the man with the vest is a homunculus, Deidara proved this earlier by blowing up half of his body. The rest are chimeras."

Greed pouted, "Well that ruined the fun."

"That's not possible!" A homunculus?! How could that be? "There's never been anyone who could make one! And chimera's can't talk!"

"Oh but it is. Never say that something isn't possible, otherwise, I wouldn't be alive." Greed smirked as he kneeled to match Al's height, 'And as for who could make all this? Homunculus? Talking chimera? Why… the military of course."

'Considering the fact that our escort was a homunculus, this country's leader is most likely a homunculus and the fact that the military wanted someone to master in chimera making… this isn't that much of a surprise.' Deidara deadpanned while watching Al and Greed talk, and when Greed tried to coax Al into spilling nonexisting secrets, Deidara stepped in, "Your brother is on his way."

"Brother is?" Al straightened up, much to the dismay of the girl inside him, "But he's…"

"Oh I get it, your brother is the one who put you in that suit!" Greed crossed his arm while also rubbing his chin, "This'll be fun."

'3...2...1… and… now.' Looking over to the door, Itachi watched it be kicked open by a peeved Ed, a familiar looking crow was peacefully resting on his shoulder, "Shouldn't you have brought your teacher along?"

"Shut up!" Ed growled as he swatted the bird away, which took it upon itself to fly out of the room to get more help, "Al! Are you alright?"

"Brother! This guy is a homunculus!" The metal boy ignored the disappointed look given to him by Greed, "He might have information on how to get our original bodies back!"

"A homunculus…? No way…" He looked at the Akatsuki, "Did you two bring Al here?!"

Deidara glared at the shorter male, "We were ordered to keep you two safe, do you REALLY think we would be stupid enough to bring the youngest of you two to a place even I'm too young to be in, un?" Honestly, where was the trust? Granted… Itachi did lead Ed here and neither of them were tied up. Oh well.

"Whatever." Ed cracked his knuckles and turned attention to Greed, "I'm getting my brother back whether I have to kick your ass or not."

"Oh come on kid. Tell you what, I'll tell you how to create a homunculus," Everyone was brought to attention, including the Akatsuki, "and you'll tell me how to transmute a soul so I can gain immortality! Valuable information for valuable information, the perfect equivalent exchange."

"You don't know what you want…"

"I don't know what I want? Are you nuts?!" Greed turned to Al, "You don't need to sleep or eat, you never have to fear aging or dying of disease. It's the best thing ever!"

Itachi tensed, something was off about Ed, "Don't you dare talk like that!" Without thinking, Ed charged at Greed.

 _At Izumi's place_

"Izumi," Sig called for his wife while on the phone, "there's a phone call asking for the other boys that are traveling with Ed and Al." When his wife approached him, Sig handed her the phone and headed outside to find the brothers.

"Hello?' Izumi leaned against the wall, "This is Izumi Curtis, I'm the-" She paused to correct herself, "Elric brothers' former teacher."

"Hello." The voice on the other end sent a chill down Izumi's spine, it was a woman's but never has she heard someone speak in such a… cold manner. This was the kind of voice used by the most war-torn of soldiers, someone that shouldn't be talking on a phone, "My name is Konan no Ame, I am the Blue Rose Alchemist. Are Deidara or Itachi nearby? I have some matters to discuss with them."

'So this is Konan… interesting title as well…' Izumi let out a half laugh that was mostly nerves, "Sadly I haven't seen either of them in a while, oddly enough Ed and Al went missing…"

She could almost feel the energy leaving the other woman, "I see… knowing their track record," Izumi wasn't sure which "their" she was referring to, "they'll be in some form of trouble… alright, the next time you speak to them inform them that I want the four back in Central soon. Tell them… 'God's rain is watching'. They'll know it was me talking to you."

Now Izumi was just weirded out, "Okay… what does that have to do with them know-" But the line was cut off, "... She is definitely their boss." Setting the phone back in place, Izumi stepped outside just as Sig returned with the broom.

"This was founded on the street." Sig handed the broom back to her.

"Those boys… are in so much trouble when I find them!" Sig sweatdropped as lightning seemed to strike out of nowhere nearby. He opened his mouth to say something when a crow landed in front of them on the ground, "Scat bird." But the crow didn't move, instead, it cawed and tugged on her dress.

One of Izumi's workers tossed a matchbox at her, "A couple of guys described someone like Ed going to a place called the Devil's Nest."

Izumi paused and looked at the matchbox, "Darling, man the shop. I'm going to pick up the boys, make them my students again and GIVE THEM THE SCOLDING OF A LIFETIME!" Without warning, she stormed off, the crow leading the way.

 _Back at the Devil's Nest_

Greed shot up an arm to block another blow from Ed before chuckling, "Whoo, you've got some speed there. Let's see if this will make you faster." Slowly lifting up his hand, Greed snapped his fingers. Behind him, Roa picked up the still bound Al and rushed out with the other chimeras behind him.

"Al!" Ed turned to follow the chimeras but his face was greeted by the homunculus' shin, sending him crashing into a wall, "Itachi! Deidara! Get Al back!" Ed turned his automail arm into a blade and aimed for Greed, trying to knock him down. Itachi was quick to follow orders, but Deidara remained, "What the hell do you think you are doing?!"

Deidara crossed his arms and leaned against a wall by some crates, "I'm here to make sure you don't die. Have fun with your fight, un." He seemingly got himself comfy despite the stone wall, wishing that he packed a snack.

Naturally, Ed was not amused by the older teen's lax attitude to the situation, but quickly swapped his focus towards Greed. The two swapped punches, kicks, each one having their own way of defence, only Ed's was slowly breaking down. Eventually, Ed realized something about Greed's body, but only after he received a heavy blow to the head. Now he dangled by Greed's grip by the head, letting even more blood rush through his body.

"Heh… thanks… because of that blow to the head, I was able to clear my mind and think straight…" With a pleased smirk, Ed clapped his hands and placed them on Greed's arm. The shock of the alchemy made the homunculus drop Ed, but all that did was give Ed the ability to cut through Greed's defences, "Gotta say, I should have realized that your body was still made of carbon. Your shield may be diamond tough, but I can break diamond down to be as weak as pencil lead."

Deidara rose an eyebrow at this, pushing himself from the wall and headed towards the fighting duo, "Alright, time for me to intervene, un." A clay bird already rested gracefully in his palms, neither one could figure out where it came from though.

"You choose now to join in when I'm already beaten up? I can barely move my arm!" Ed questioned with a mild hint of annoyance. It was all thanks Winry that he was even able to keep fighting with his automail.

"Yep, I didn't want to use my art until I was certain that we could beat him. Besides, you're alive, aren't you? Now… you do the thing and I hit, un."

Ed eyed the bird skeptically, he's seen the blond in action and he didn't like being nearby the other, "Fine…"

Greed grunted as his arm regenerated and so did his shield, "And just when I was starting to get bored with the same fighting routine, how is this any different from befo-" He was cut off when Ed slammed his hands on Greed's stomach. Before he could take a swipe at the brat, Ed leaped out of the way and a little clay bird flew in his face, "Damn-"

"KATSU!"

Smoke enveloped the room for the second time with the only sound being heard from ringing ears was Greed's yell of pain. Deidara could see perfectly fine considering this was something he use to doing almost daily on missions. And through the smoke, he saw Greed's stomach, red from heavy burns and the skin nearly peeling off from the intense heat of his explosion… weird, and it was only C1. Why is everyone so weak in this world?

"That hurts… hell, that felt like death without actually dying! What kind of alchemy is that?!" The smoke cleared as Greed covered his wounded stomach with his shield, "No alchemy should be able to do that!"

"Pretty hypocritic to say alchemy shouldn't be able to do something don't you think?" Deidara rested his hands against his hips with a smirk, "But yeah, that's not alchemy. It's my art, un!"

"Yeah and thanks to your art, Deidara, I learned something pretty crucial." Ed charged forward, his automail foot connecting with Greed's stomach and a newfound wave of pain escaped the other, "You can't regenerate and defend at the same time! Also smoke really stings my eyes..."

"Wow, for something that is supposed to be the ultimate creation, homunculus kinda suck, un…" Granted, medical ninjutsu requires full concentration to work but normally they have people to protect them; at the same time, some medical shinobi are feared for their power such as the legendary Tsunade. As far as Deidara could tell, get these homunculi to separate and they're helpless when you learn their weak points… Wonder if Itachi's Amaterasu would kill a homunculus...

Oh well, too late to test that theory right now. All that's really left is to get rid of Greed is to keep hitting the vitals and-

Sensing an approaching kill intent, Deidara smirked and slowly backed away, catching everyone's attention, "Time to test my alchemy."

Greed raised a nonexisting eyebrow as he stretched his neck out, "What alchem-" His mouth hanging open when he saw that on the wall of the Devil's nest had two alchemy circles, "When did you-?"

Ed paled at the sight of the circles, his brain translating the two at an instant, "Don't use those!"

Deidara's eyes seemed to light up at Ed's tone as he gave the shorter male a challenging grin, "Why not? Do tell me why I should not use these two circles, un."

"They're opposites! If you use them they'll expl-" Ed's eyes increased in size with pure fear, "...ode…" No… no no no, this teen was insane! "Don-!"

Too late, Deidara clapped his hands and slammed them onto the circles, throwing himself back to avoid damage. There was only a split second to react as an explosion encumbered the wall, collapsing as a new voice rang out from the outside world.

"I take it you are an expert on this sort of thing?" At this rate, Ed was going to pass out from the amount of blood leaving his face. Izumi calmly walked through the rubble, accepting Deidara's offering hand and the crow on her shoulder seemingly vanished when the blond glared at it.

"Thank you Deidara, how nice that there are young people that are still courteous… unlike a certain former STUDENT OF MINE who just so happened to leave without PUTTING AWAY A CERTAIN BROOM!" Deidara clamped his teeth over his lips to stop a snicker from escaping as Izumi scolded Ed without even looking at him.

The shrimp paled as he realized the grave error in his life, "I'm so sorry!"

Izumi looked over Ed, noting his bloodied face, "I should thank you for showing such generous hospitality to my boy… where is Al-" She turns her head to Deidara who jabs a thumb at the hallway, "... boys specifically." Seemingly annoyed with the world, Izumi began to crack her knuckles and walk over to Greed.

Greed wasn't impressed, "Huh? Give me a break…" He closes his eyes to turn up his nose, "I like women, but there's no way I'm going to fight a woman." He snapped his eyes open when hearing rapid footsteps, only for a hand to be placed on his face. In that split second, alchemy transformed his shield and a small, sandaled foot connects with his cheekbone, sending him flying in the air and into the wall, "Ooooh… who the hell are you?"

"Just a passing housewife… and I'm here to protect my boys."

Deidara let out a small laugh, 'This is kinda cute…'

Izumi's eyes lit up for a moment, "Oh Deidara, your boss called and she said she wanted you two to return to Central as quickly as you can. She said to tell you 'God's rain is watching' as… some kind of proof that it was her talking."

"It's her alright, un." Great, sounds like something heavy is going on back in Central. He and Itachi will need to confirm if it's immediate or if it can wait.

Greed laughed, "Two kids and a housewife, this is rich… but I have no interest in fighting you, I'm too uncomfortable in this situation… I'll be retreating. See ya!" He turned to run, Izumi took a step forward to follow but coughed up blood as a result, halting Ed's chase.

"Got him, un!" Deidara broke into a run to chase the homunculus, "Time for some payback from that woman." It's not the same person… but hey, as far as he can tell all these homunculi were made by the same people.

 _Meanwhile with Itachi_

Itachi stuck to the shadows. As far as he was concerned, as long as they were by the water he was at a disadvantage. The larger chimera could easily have his comrade leave Alphonse's body and throw the boy in the water. If Kisame was here, this wouldn't be a problem, but as of this moment, there was no way Itachi would have the physical strength to pick up the armor.

He quickly ran up the ceiling to conceal his presence when the dog chimera turned around and gave a sniff, he could smell Itachi of course, but the shinobi noticed that he was focused on something else. And then he could faintly hear it in the distance.

Gunshots… someone was using guns… and the only ones that could use firearms it appears besides illegal gangs were…

"Roa put the kid down, there's trouble. Martel, stay inside the armor." Alphonse was set down and the two chimeras bolted off. Dolcetto looking up at Itachi as they ran past him, the look in his eyes was enough to pass a message.

'Keep her alive.'

Without a sound, Itachi kept to the ceiling, crouched low to remain hidden from view as he watched Al worm his way down the sewer's floor. He could still hear activity in the distance, too much for his liking. Sensing a chakra signature heading in the parallel direction of Al, Itachi moved past his charge to see Deidara trying to sneak up on Greed, who was oblivious to the fact a hot-tempered blond was on his heel. Itachi quickly grabbed Deidara, bringing him to the ceiling, "Al is fine… we need to stay quiet and watch what happens…"

Deidara also dropped his voice to a whisper, "Are you kidding me? I'm so close to learning how many lives he has, un!"

"Lives…-? Nevermind, you can learn that later. Something is going on and…" He looks down and watches Greed talk to Martel, only for a familiar presence approaching them, "Stay quiet."

Deidara groaned as he felt the Uchiha's chakra signature pretty much hung onto him as they were concealed in a genjutsu, "They really suck at this whole 'I'm an all-powerful being' thing, un."

"I am aware, now be quiet."

Materializing out of the darkness was none other than King Bradley himself, swords branded and ready to kill any who stood in his way. As far as the Akatsuki were concerned, that was Greed and depending on what happens next… themselves.

"What's the highest ranking man in the country doing out in a place like this? This isn't the best place for a stroll, old man."

"Me? old? How old are you?" Bradley didn't give Greed much time to respond, "I'll be reaching my milestone of 60 this year. And you see, when you get older, your body stops moving the way you want it to."

Deidara and Itachi exchanged looks, almost instantly calling bullshit on that. If that was the case then their teammate Kakuzu would be dead at this point, and he outlives Bradley by at least 30 years.

"You need to retire old man…" Greed's arm starts to grow his shields, "but I'll take you on- GAH!" Without any hesitation, Bradley easily cut through Greed's shield and said arm flew into the water, "Hold up, what kind of old man are yo-"

Mercilessly, Bradley sliced through Greed's body like he was preparing a midnight sandwich. Each cut made even the Akatsuki flinch as only Itachi was able to keep an eye on every step made by Bradley. As the fighting progressed, they gained distance from the still struggling Alphonse.

'Hm… so this is what Bradley truly is like in battle? Or is he holding himself back… Without chakra, he may be able to defeat Kisame in a swordfight…' Kisame was powerful with both his water jutsu and sword, but if Bradley is able to mimic the speed of a jonin then it would be possible… or not, "Deidara, free Alphonse from those chains. Keep the chimera girl alive. Get them to safety. I'll watch Bradley."

"Why do you want the chick to live, un?"

"Because even as missing-nin, you should always honor the wishes of dying men if possible." He left the confused blond to deal with Alphonse while he kept spying on the fighting pair.

Greed took a large swipe at Bradley's face, removing the eyepatch. The sight before Itachi didn't surprise him, in fact, all this does is give the Akatsuki the edge.

"I may not have the ultimate shield, nor the ultimate spear… but do you know how I survived bullets aiming for my head and use my skills to gain the position I have today?"Bradley drove his swords deeper through Greed's throat, "Because I have the ultimate eye. Nothing can be missed with this eye."

'Except for genjutsu.' Itachi held his tongue, 'I've been spending too much time with Deidara and Hidan it seems…'

 _Back with Deidara_

"Oi, Al! Hold still while I handle these chains, un." Al had a figurative heart attack when Deidara landed in front of him, "Okay, we are definitely going to train you two to stop being so jumpy around us, this is getting annoying."

"Deidara?! When did you get here?" Al watched in amazement as tiny clay spiders latched themselves onto Al's chains. After Deidara made a hand motion that was unfamiliar to the boy, the spiders exploded, destroying the chains, "So are all of the things you do, are those your jutsu-things?"

"Mhm…" Deidara hummed to himself as he checked the surroundings, "Come on, let's get you two out of…" Footsteps made him look to his left, "here…"

Weak from his fight against Bradley, Greed stumbled forward before collapsing, a sword was lodged into his throat. Bradley stood over him in disappointment.

"Damnit…" Deidara put all of his weight onto Al's head to keep Martel from trying to escape, "Stupid girl, do you want to die, un?!"

"Well, this is messy…" Seemingly out of nowhere, Roa and Dolcetto approached the group, ignoring Al and Deidara, "The Fuhrer himself…"

"You know running away is always an option." Sarcasm oozed out of Roa's mouth.

"I could, couldn't I? My human self-preservation says to flee, but the loyalty of a dog is stronger in my body." A soft laugh left Dolcetto and he looked to Al and Deidara, keeping his voice low, "Get her out of here."

Roa smiled, "We're counting on you guys."

Deidara blinked as realization dawned on him, "...So you're the dying men…"

Martel tensed up, "Dying…? No!" Hearing the sounds of her friends running to their doom, she pounded at Al's armor, trying to get out, "Let me out! I have to help them!"

"Al, run, I got a hold of your head." Deidara put his chakra into his hands and feet to latch himself onto Al's body and head, putting his whole weight into keeping the chimera safe, "Just go!"

Al slowly pushed himself up, onto to stumble when Martel began to flail, "Please, you can't come out!"

"I don't have time to listen to you! Open up now! Let me out! Are you really going to tell me to sit here and let my friends die?!"

"Their deaths are going to be in vain if you die as well! This is why I refuse to cooperate with civilians, un!" Deidara had to admit, for someone with no chakra this girl was strong! He sadly made the mistake of looking over to Bradley, only to see the dog chimera being sliced in half by his midsection. If that wasn't enough to make him sick, he had to inhale to stop vomit from appearing when Roa was cut into four sections.

Looking down inside Al, Deidara sees Martel slump in defeat, "GO, NOW!" Al didn't hesitate, he broke into a blind run. Deidara looked over his shoulder just in time to see Bradley strike down Greed for the last time.

"You there!" Bradley's voice calling to the younger brother made him trip on his feet. Al crashed down on the ground hard but forced himself to land on his stomach to minimize not only Martel being thrown around but also to not crush the living cargo on his back.

"Damn kid…" Deidara unattached his feet and hands from Al so they both could face Bradley as he approached them.

"You're Edward's younger brother, yes? And the shorter boy behind you is one of Konan's men, am I correct?" He approached them in a way that was both friendly and… deathly terrifying, "Are either of you injured? Let me help, I can see you're leg is hurt." He nods in Deidara's direction as the blond stood there frozen on the spot.

'Where is Itachi?' Deidara could feel his own heart pounding in his ears. He felt confident facing someone like Greed, but even with his art Bradley was too fast. The moment he learns that Deidara needs to put his hands in his pouch to attack it's bye bye arms, 'Where is that damn Uchiha, why am I in the genjutsu too?!' He would break out of the genjutsu, but that would give away Itachi's position. But the Uchiha's chakra needed to stop hugging him like a crying child. It was making him depressed.

Suddenly, Al's hands twitched and they latched themselves around Bradley's neck. Despite Al's grip strength, it had no visual effect on Bradley's body. And then Bradley looked at Al…

"Let go!" But just as Deidara took a single step forward, Bradley's sword drove itself into the gap between Al's head and body. Blood spewed out from every opening in the armor, and Al collapsed, "What the hell was that for, un?!"

"There was a threat inside Edward's younger brother's body. I simply removed it, now… what to do with you…" Bradley took a step towards the teen, "... did you bring the boys here to such a dangerous place?" Bradley didn't need glasses to see that Deidara was the weakest of this little band that Konan had. He was not only the youngest but had no toned muscles, a skinny thing that seemed to not have much to offer… of course, if Envy's report was right then he may also be the most dangerous at a distance.

An involuntary gulp left Deidara's throat, "No, of course not. Itachi and I have been following Konan's orders."

Another step forward, "And what are those orders?" He stopped when a knife-like object was pressed against his eyepatch.

"Protect Edward and Alphonse Elric by any means necessary… unless you are able to clean up Alphonse and have him wake up, we will deem you a threat to the brother's safety and I will personally take. You. Down. Myself…"

Bradley looked over, and watched as Itachi's eyes went from coal black, to a brilliant crimson, "Oh, so that wasn't a trick of the eye…" His frown deepened when the eye changed patterns, "Very well, I will assist in tending to Alphonse if you would be so kind as to remove yourself from my person."

Never taking his spinning eyes off of the Fuhrer, Itachi stood by Deidara's side. The bomber wasn't sure if he should inch closer or farther away from Itachi… he was kinda intimidating when pissed. Itachi only deactivated his sharingan was when reinforcements arrived to help Al.

It took a few minutes for the soldiers to remove Martel's body from Al's unconscious one. Ed was being tended to while watching this, eyes closing when he saw the sword deep gash that went past the shoulder blade and seemingly shish kabobed the heart, her collarbones stuck out to reveal a clean cut. That was a sight he's going to try everything to forget.

Deidara allowed a soldier to bandage his ankle as he watched this, 'Well, Bradley is definitely a homunculus… to strike down a woman like tha- wait a minute…' The bomber blinked rapidly as he looked at the body being dragged nearby him. It has chakra attached to it.

"You should always fulfill dying men's wishes to the best of your abilities…" Itachi leaned against the wall by Deidara with a sigh, rubbing his eyes almost to the point of being painful, "Too much chakra…" He stopped rubbing his eyes when he heard Al wake up and seemingly break down from seeing the body.

"Let me handle things until you rest then…" Deidara didn't say anything about the corpse now being covered by a blanket, no doubt the genjutsu will fade once the body is disposed of.

"I must ask you four a question before anyone leaves." All of the soldiers saluted as Bradley made his way over to the group, "Did you know the mastermind here? A man named Greed."

Ed stood on his feet, "No, we didn't."

"Did you give out any important information?"

"No, we didn't tell him anything that would be of any benefit to the military…"

"Don't misunderstand. I don't speak for just the military. If you had made any deal with him, then depending on what the deal was…" Suddenly guns were pointed in their direction, "Have you made any such deals?"

Ed didn't flinch, "No. Any other questions?"

Bradley looked over to the Akatsuki, which Deidara spoke, "He had nothing we would make a deal for, un." It was a partial lie, but right now there were things being pointed at them and he didn't like it one bit.

A long pause, Deidara wasn't sure if violins were playing or his ears were ringing, but the silence was getting on his nerves.

"Your automail limbs and your brother's body… are they related?" Now it was the brothers' turn to be tense, that was the last question they would want to answer, and thus they remained quiet, "Such an honest boy. We're pulling out." He turned and left, the soldiers following behind, "Take care of that brother of yours."

 _That night_

Itachi began to dial for Konan at their hotel when Deidara nudged him, "When do we tell the brothers?"

"When Bradley leaves… is she still under the genjutsu?"

"Your genjutsu last way too long in this world. Yeah she's still asleep on the couch, un." Deidara jerked his head towards the couch, where their current guest was having a dreamless slumber, "What do we do with her?" He was mostly asking this because thanks to a certain someone going soft, he'll have to share a room with the said someone.

"I plan on asking Izumi and Sig to take her in, in the morning. For now, it's best we all get rest- hello?" Someone had finally picked up the phone, "My name is Itachi, I wish to speak with the Blue Rose Alchemist…a code? ...God's rain is watching."

"Your code matches, one moment while I wire the call."

A dial tone sat on the phone before a familiar voice rang out, "Itachi."

"Konan, we received your message from Izumi. We will not be returning to Central until the brother's do the same, what was it that you wanted to tell us?" Deidara leaned in to listen to the conversation.

"... Are you two alone?"

Deidara spoke up, "No, but the person here is under a genjutsu, she can't hear anything, un."

"Very well… Maes Hughes was murdered."

Deidara had to catch the phone as it slipped from Itachi's grasps. He placed it against his ear, "How did he die? And how does this relate to us?" Granted he was stunned by the news himself. If anyone was going to die randomly while they were gone, Deidara had put money on it being Roy Mustang, not someone who hides behind the battlefield.

"Because it was that shapeshifter homunculus that killed him. Hidan witnessed it and was shot in the head. Sasori believes that a woman named Maria Ross will be blamed for the murder and I am planning on working with Mustang to handle this if the information is proven true."

Deidara wasn't getting this, "I'm a little lost, how does this relate to us returning to Central, un?"

"Because you two will have this new order upon arriving: It does not matter who will witness our jutsu... Unless instructed otherwise, you will treat any homunculus you meet as a threat to the Akatsuki and kill on sight."

* * *

 **I have no idea why I decided to have Martel live, but I did. I'll see what I can do with that later or if she'll die later on, but until then she has a beating heart still. An explanation as to how Itachi got her out of there alive will exist in the next chapter if you guys were wondering.**

 **I'm honestly kinda proud with how I handled the fight scenes, I hate writing them out because they are so much of a visual thing. If you can't tell, I'm more of an emotions and interactions kind of author more than a "BOOM, POW, KICK THEN PUNNNNNCCCCHHHHHH!" author.**

 **Also more details on the order Konan gave will be presented later, just know that this does not mean Deidara and Itachi will go and blow up/burn Bradley. The order will only happen once they are in Central… let's just say I have some very… sadistic plans for one of the homunculi's death.**

* This has never been confirmed in any media (I think), but in this fic, Itachi can see through the eyes of his crows. I did the same thing in my other fic and I am going to be consistent on it too.

 **Next chapter should be the introduction to everyone's favorite Xing prince!**

 **As always, reviews are loved and I will see you guys in the next chapter.**

 **Bye!**


	12. Returning to Central

**Lord help me, college just started up again and my schedule is going to get nuts pretty soon. I struggled with this chapter because I had my birthday last week, so I had no time to work on this until the day after, not to mention I was beginning to get burnt out from this fic and my beta and I agreed on some changes. More detail at the ending AN.**

 **Thank you guys for the fave, follows and reviews.**

 **Jojobrn: Basically, but the characters deserve an explanation at least. :D**

 **princessbinas: I haven't decided on how I would make them react just yet. Envy freaked out at first when he saw them and if that was enough to affect a Homunculus then it's certainly going to startle normal humans.**

 **BloodPokemon101: Actually, I'm not. Kisame may be powerful but he is slow, whereas Bradley is able to move at inhuman speeds (though they slow him down dramatically later in the series for some reason) and could move around Kisame's attacks and cut off his arms if the fight was one-on-one; it also doesn't help that unless Kisame can get a hit, Samehada has no chakra to consume and is almost deadweight at that point. Sasuke and maybe Killer Bee would be the only sword fighters that could keep up with Bradley due to their speed and usage of thin, lightweight swords and Sasuke' sharingan can follow his movements. Also yeah, I forgot Deidara's catchphrase, sorry about that.**

 **Greer123: I'm a little stressed from school but otherwise I think I'm doing pretty okay. Thanks for checking up! :)**

 **Warning: Mention of suicide, swearing, very little violence, more talking about Hughes' death, cultural confusion.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood**

* * *

Itachi and Deidara sat at their hotel's dining room table, eating some eggs when they heard a groan from the couch, "Guess your genjutsu finally wore off Itachi, un."

"Indeed…" Itachi looked up to see Martel slowly approach them, holding her head, "Your breakfast is here." He motioned to the empty chair and the plate of food on it.

"... Why…? Why didn't you let me die?"

"Your friends' last wish was to keep you alive, I merely followed it." Itachi took a sip of his morning tea as he watched the cogwheels turning in her head.

Martel's eyes glazed over, near to tears, "I should have died with them…"

Deidara swallowed a large bite, "Is everyone here so self-deprecating and low on life morals that you want to die because you lost your friends, un?" Insensitive? Oh hell yeah. But Deidara was a shinobi bred for war, even the ones that lost everything are still moving forward.

Itachi eyed the other male, "Please be more sensitive."

A loud thud was heard as Deidara pounded his fist onto the table, "No. I will let her mourn, but I'm not going to let her think like someone on the brink of suicidal thoughts." He shot up to his feet, grabbed Martel by the shoulder and made her look at him, "Look at me, they wanted you to keep living. You dying right now would mean the same thing as letting their memories fade, do you want that, un?"

Martel didn't speak, so Deidara continued, "The person who killed them was Fuhrer King Bradley, the man isn't even human." He gives her a violent jerk which startled her enough, "Cry for your friends, mourn for them, create resting sights in their memories. But right now your greatest form of revenge is that you are alive to tell others the brutality of the Amestris military under Bradley's rule. You will not die, do you understand, un?"

"... Yes…" Fire began to form in Martel's eyes, "You're right. I need to live for them."

"Good." Deidara flopped back onto his chair and resumed eating. With a mouth full of food, he noticed Itachi was staring at him, "Whaf?"

"I didn't take you for the motivational speaker type."

"Yeaf…" Deidara holds up a finger and swallows, "Yeah well, I hate it when people want to die. Their lives are fleeting, but their death is unartistically dreadful- not to mention eternal."

Itachi noticed a loophole that he just had to jab at, "Yet you constantly say that you wish to die by one of your explosions."

Deidara huffed, "Yeah because I would be dying by my own terms. I want to scar the world with my art, to remember my art, and to do that I need to be at the top of my mental capacity." He stood up and headed towards the sink, "If I was depressed and wanted to commit suicide just because I hated my life, then it would disrespect my art and what I stand for, un!"

"Hn…"

Martel was midbite when Deidara began his rant, slowly setting down her fork, "You rant like Mr. Greed… also, you are completely insane."

Deidara laughed, "The best artists are insane! It's how we create the most beautiful of art. And my art is an explosion, it needs my mind to be free, un!"

The girl felt some sweat roll down her forehead, 'I'm starting to fear what these two have planned for me…'

 _An hour later_

The walk to Izumi's place was filled with tense silence. Deidara and Itachi chose to be in their shinobi clothes minus their cloaks, not afraid if anyone sees them. Martel was between them, with Itachi leading and Deidara keeping an eye on the back. They would be damned on their pride if they let the girl die after all this effort and chakra.

Itachi was unsurprised to see Alphonse and Edward in the front yard, and even less so when they bolted over to them.

"Miss. Martel?! You're alive?!" Itachi stepped out of the way so Alphonse could get a good look at her, "How…?" His hands hovered over her as if afraid she would vanish with a single touch.

Deidara snorted, "It was too easy. The thing Bradley stabbed wasn't her. It was- uhh, Itachi? Who did he stab, un?"

"I came across a dying soldier and chose that if he was going to die anyway, he should be useful and save a life." Itachi responded coldly.

Ed gulped, "You… used someone?"

"He was a soldier yes?" Itachi waited for Ed to nod his head, "Then he should be no different from a shinobi. The worst insult to your honor is to die a meaningless death. Besides… I could care less about what happens to those who follow Bradley so blindly."

Deidara's eyes widened and he let out an impressed whistle, "Who are you and what did you do to the real Itachi? Kidding, I agree with you, un." He pats Martel on the back, making the girl jolt but remain passive either way, "We need to talk to Izumi."

"I'm here, what do you two want?" Izumi approached the group with her arms crossed, looking at the other girl, "So… I'm guessing you're one of the chimeras?"

"Yes… my name is Martel…" She shifted her eyes to different locations to avoid the other woman's gaze, "Um… I guess I should apologize for what happened with the brothers, I'm the one that was in the kid's armo-"

Martel bent her body in a way that would damage a regular person's spine as she dodged one of Izumi's kicks. Twisting her body to slink around Izumi to hold her wrist to avoid a punch, realizing that this could be taken the wrong way, Martel released her, "Sorry, reflexes."

Izumi pondered this, "Hmm… extreme flexibility and you're mobile too?" She looked to Itachi and Deidara, almost reading their minds, "Fine, I'll take her in, under the condition that she pulls her weight."

"I was expecting to sit and negotiate." Itachi kept a polite smile on his face, "Thank you for being understanding."

Martel sputtered, "Hang on, I'm doing what?!"

Izumi put a hand on her hip, "You can't go walking around in public nor do you have anywhere else to go, right? You'll help out with the shop when I'm too ill to get out of bed and learn the trade."

Martel's jaw fell to the floor, "I-... I mean… thank you."

Deidara approached the brothers, "Where to next?"

"I need to see Winry for repairs." Ed shows off his badly damaged hand that was barely on his arm, "We'll be returning to Central hopefully afterwards."

An exhale escaped Deidara, "Yeah… Konan wants us back there as soon as possible." He and Itachi exchanged looks, both agreeing that they shouldn't talk about Hughes' murder in front of them, "Let's catch the train as soon as possible."

"Bye Teacher, Miss. Martel! We'll give a call when we can!" Al waved to the two ladies as he heads out with the others.

"You better! And don't slack off on your training runt!" Izumi smirked when Itachi physically picked up Ed to keep the blond's temper in check, "Now, Martel… let's get you settled in your new room."

"Right."

 _Rush Valley_

Deidara winced as he watched Winry brutally smack Ed on the head with a wrench, "Errr… You guys have fun with the repairs…" With a turn on his heel, Deidara rushed out of the automail shop with Itachi following, "That would have been boring to watch, un."

"I'm sure Sasori would beg to differ, he would be fond of this town…" A thought occurred to him as he looked at a bakery, "Depending on how things go, Bradley may use Winry as a crutch to keep Edward in check…"

Deidara crossed his arms, following Itachi into the shop, "Right, and she's a smart kid, but everyone here has too much faith in the military- Uhhh chocolate e… eclair, un." He nodded absentmindedly in thanks to the cashier, paying for the sweet.

"One of the pastries with the strawberry on it- doesn't matter which one." Itachi also paid for his pastry and they left the shop, ignoring the "please come again!" from the worker, "I'll talk to Konan about sending Sasori here if our prediction comes true."

"You know he won't use metal for his puppets besides weapons, but it could help him learn some more tricks, un." Deidara wiped his face when he felt chocolate on the corner of his mouth, "I'm going to fly above the city and scout around for any unusual activities, un."

"Very well…" Popping the strawberry in his mouth Itachi headed for one of the rare spots where darkness existed in this sunny town, "Don't get spotted." With that, the Ex-ANBU was gone.

"Psh, 'don't get spotted' says the guy hiding in the shadows of the brightest town ever, un." Deidara grumbled to himself, heading just outside of town to create a white hawk, particularly ones he's seen flying around, "Can't wait to get out of here… it's too much like Iwa and Suna had a village child, un."

Within an hour Deidara had to put on his Akatsuki hat and cloak to avoid dying of heat stroke. Despite being black the material was rather cooling. He wasn't spotting much out of the ordinary, besides seeing Itachi body flicker to a new location… or at least he thought that was Itachi. Nah, it had to be Itachi, there was no one else that wore that much cotton black or had a white and red mask-

Wait a minute… Itachi doesn't wear a mask.

Doing a double take on the new movement, he dropped a few clay sparrows to not only tag along with the interesting person, but to also find Itachi.

 _With Itachi_

There were movements within the shadows that were not just Itachi. He was keeping his chakra and presences to a minimum, while something was off about this new activity and it was doing very little to hide.

Following the presences, he found Alphonse and Edward talking to a boy with dark hair and clothes that were unusual for Amestris and a ridiculously large pile of plates even for Konoha's standards rested between them, 'Why does this kid want the Philosopher's stone? Does he even know what it's made out of?' All Itachi had to do was blink once and the two presences he sensed appeared, holding weapons to the brothers, "Hm… quite fast compared to others in this world. However...'

In a flash, Itachi had his own kunai to the hooded figure's neck as they held a kunai to Ed's, "Not fast enough."

Ling's mouth opened up in shock, "Wow, you're fast. Are you from Xing?"

"Wouldn't you like to know, un?" Everyone looked up to see Deidara dive bomb from the bird, crash landing on the masked one with silver hair and knocking him to the ground, "Step away from Ed or the old man's blood pours onto the stone."

The hooded one tensed, slowly relaxing their hold on their kunai. But just when they did, they flicked their wrist, twisted their body to kick Itachi off of them… except all they got was their back on the ground, their wrists pinned and a pair of red eyes staring down at them unimpressed, "Wha…?"

'A woman? So… this world have shinobi? Or at least mock copies of them.' The clothes and weaponry match, Itachi watched as the boy slowly stood up, "Do you understand what the Philosopher's stone really is?"

Ling placed his hands on his hips, "Why, the key to immortality of course! Not to mention the first step in taking over this country!" He spoke in a careless manner, not really caring for spies, "Now, would you please get off them?"

"Y-young lord, something is off with these two, they have two kinds of chi!" Both Deidara and Itachi stared at the older of the two mimic shinobi with interest. He can sense chakra within them…?

'Oh right, Xing is similar to the Five Great Nations. Their Alkahestry is similar to jutsu but with a different energy source.' Deidara smirked and looked to Ling, "Let's talk somewhere in private, Itachi and I are more willing to answer your questions… for a price, un."

Ling waved a hand over his face like he was swatting a fly, "Depends on the price."

Itachi seized the moment, "We want all known information on your countries Alkahestry."

The boy paused, rubbing his chin, "Well I'm not that skilled in Alkahestry, but it was a part of my training to learn all about it… sounds fair, and if you're this skilled you'll know if I'm lying or not! Hahahaha!" The laugh was forced, cocky even and it annoyed the blond of the Akatsuki more than others would think, it reminded him too much of Tobi's laugh.

Getting off the masked duo, Itachi and Deidara proceed to lead everyone back to Winry's shop when an annoyed voice called out to them, "Hey!"

Ed flinched and turned around, seeing the shop owner waving a large bill in his face, "Pay up! That was a lot of food I made!"

Ed gawked, "He's the one that ate it!" He pointed his automail arm dramatically at Ling, "He should be the one to pay up!"

"Sorry I no understand country language much. Goodbye!" And with that, Ling and his two buddies vanished.

With reluctance, Ed paid for the food with a grumble and spent the whole walk stomping, "Pretending to not understand the language, and everyone believes him!" He all but breathed fire from his mouth as he began yelling at Deidara and Itachi, "How come you guys never tried doing that, huh?!"

Deidara stuck his nose in the air, "Hmph! We have enough pride in us to not even try, unlike that kid with the puffy pants!"

"Heeeey, that's rude, I take pride in my acting skills!" There he was, sitting on a chair with a cup of coffee and Winry's boss also enjoying a cup, "It got me out of trouble plenty of times before."

"The fact that you have gotten in situations like this before is concerning…" Itachi's eyes flickered upwards to the ceiling before vanishing on the spot using a body flicker technique. Several shouts later he returned holding the masks of Ling's bodyguards, Itachi spoke in a flat tone, "An elderly man and a woman."

No one was sure if Itachi spoke in a way to insult or was simply stating a fact, but Deidara took the woman's mask to examine it, "Kinda like Konoha's ANBU masks… ugh, this material is awful, un." He was tempted to take a kunai and jab it at the mask to see if it would break.

Ling rests his head against his fist with a smirk, "I'm becoming more and more impressed each time one of you two do something. It's not every day I see those that can outpower and outspeed Fu and Lan Fan." Neither Akatsuki could tell who was the woman and who was the old man… Deidara was betting that Fu was the woman considering it's the same name as the Nanabi Jinchuuriki.

Ed took a step forward, "Why do you even have bodyguards anyway? And why are you after immortality?"

"Because I'm the son of the Emperor."

The brothers went into a state of mental crisis while Deidara and Itachi barely blinked. Even if he was part of a royal family, the lack of guards was enough to show that he was not close to his father's throne in the slightest, or his mother was not favored. The Elric brothers burst into laughter at the idea of Ling being a prince, just the very thought made their sides hurt and they both ended up on the ground.

"A-a prince, a-and yet you're b-b-begging for food?" Ed shook his head, only to freeze when a kunai nearly impaled his head, making him scream.

The girl had poked her head ever-so-slightly over the window frame, "Don't you dare talk ill about Master Ling…"

Ling chuckled, "It's alright Lan Fan," Okay, now the Akatsuki were confused, how do names work in this world? "They mean no harm." The girl whose name apparently wasn't Fu but instead Lan Fan slinked back behind the walls, "The emperor has many wives, one from each family to be precise and as such he has many sons and daughters. I am the 12th in line. Lately, the emperor has been waning in health, so by me finding the secrets to immortality it'll ensure my place on the throne."

Deidara pinched the bridge of his nose, 'Guess Xing wasn't that much like the Five Great Nations like we had originally thought. And who names their kid Lan Fan? It sounds so old, not to mention it lacks any artistic spark.*' He let out a loud exhale from his nose to catch everyone's attention, "I believe Itachi and I have some things to discuss with you, un."

He took a step towards a chair to speak with the prince when Ed's non-metalized hand grabbed his arm, "Don't tell him anything."

Deidara yanked his arm back, "It's better he knows the truth and decide whether the stone is worth the price needed to make it, un."

"Oh, so do you do know how to make it?" Ling's head tilted and he gained a smirk, "I'm sure the price isn't too steep, I'm willing to take risks."

This whole time Itachi was quietly watching the conversation. Each passing second was the equivalent to marking off a list that seemed to grow by itself. His judgments were becoming stronger and he was developing a profile. Perhaps Ling lived a tough life, he didn't know how those in Xing lived. Itachi was ignorant to the politics, the culture, the traditions but even so… this "prince" needed to choose his words more carefully.

The Uchiha gave the shop owner a polite smile, "May we talk to him in private?"

"Oh sure, no problem." The man smoothly got up and pranced out the room.

In perfect synch, Deidara and Itachi sat in chairs across from Ling and Itachi was the one to speak, "What do you know about the Philosopher's stone. To save some time of course."

"Right…" Ling crossed his arms in thought, "Let's see… it holds tremendous power, enough to give the user immortality… but that's about it. If anything besides that was known I would be making it in Xing." Ling picked up his coffee cup to take a drink.

"You would be willing to sacrifice countless human lives to make it?"

CRASH

Ling's cup fell to the ground, shattering ceramic and splashing a lukewarm liquid all over the floor. Fu and Lan Fan flung into the room, weapons ready, fearing for their lord's safety only to freeze when he was unharmed. Ed and Al had looked away, avoiding any gazes.

"What…?" Ling let out a forced laugh, "Is this some kind of joke? Just a ruse to make me stop my search?"

Deidara gave an unimpressed stare towards the spilled coffee, "No. In order to make the stone, you have to make mass human sacrifices. I figured this out when meeting the man who could make the stones and everyone else learned it by reading the man's codes, un."

While the bomber was focusing on the wasted drink, Itachi was reading the prince's reactions. Ling's eyes were open, shifting to his bodyguards with a million emotions swimming in them. Calculations spinning in his mind as he seemed to realize just what the price is for getting the stone.

"No… I need the Philosopher's Stone but… not at that cost… how could I become emperor like that…?"

Deidara finally stopped focusing on the coffee, "There is a way. Get your hands on a stone that already exists, un."

Ling's head lopped to the side, "Huh?"

"There are stones that exist, inside Homunculus and maybe a few that are free to grab." Itachi laced his fingers together and rested them in his lap like an executive, "I believe it would be mutually beneficial for the both of us."

Ed frowned, "How would it benefit both of you?"

Right, Itachi didn't know if Konan wanted others to learn…

Sharply looking at Ed and Al, Itachi activated his sharingan. Ed's eyes glazed over and Al's eyes dimmed in lighting, "Deidara and I work for an organization, our current leader is a State Alchemist and she gave us the order to take down any Homunculi we come across. Once we return to Central, it may be beneficial to have you assist us, in return we will help you extract a Philosopher's stone."

Lan Fan tilted her head, "Is there any personal reasons why you want to kill them?"

Deidara's face twitched, "One stabbed me and another tried to kill a…" His face pinched up, "What would you call Hidan? Itachi, un?"

'A monster. A bloodthirsty maniac that won't last long in the organization. The embodiment of war, death, and destruction wrapped in the cloak of immortality.' Itachi snapped out of his thoughts, "...A comrade."

Deidara blinked a few times then shrugged nonchalantly, "Not the word I was looking for... but close enough, un."

Ling pondered this opportunity, "Hmm… Sounds good to me, but it's finders keepers on who encounters the Homunculus first." He held out his hand, "Also those eyes are fascinating."

Itachi shook Ling's hand, "Fair enough. They cast illusions, nearly impossible to break unless you have near perfect control of the energies in your body." He heard the blond next to him snort, most likely thinking the Uchiha was stroking his own ego. Cutting his chakra short, Ed and Al were released from their genjutsu. To them, Itachi had explained that Homunculus reminded him too much like some creations back home and wish to remove potential threats. A nice cookie-cutter answer.

With perfect timing, Winry returned from her errands, "Oh Ed, you're back!" She looked at Ed's half complete arm with a pleased smile, "Good, you didn't wreck it in a fight again."

Ed's head grew to comical size, "I would not do such a thing… Again! Besides, these two-" He jabbed a thumb casually at the Akatsuki, "stopped me from punching this jerk in the face!" Now he was pointing at Ling, and also had to duck to avoid a punch from a furious Lan Fan.

"Don't talk about Master Ling in such a manner!" She froze on the spot when Ling patted her on the head.

"Now now, let's get along here. They're our friends now, Lan Fan, and friends make fun of each other… uh… right?" He looked to everyone with a confused look.

Deidara crossed his arms, "I think that's how it works…"

Winry sighed, "Boys…" Without warning, she violently yanked on Ed's normal arm and shoved him on a table, "Now be still while I work on this."

"Gah, Winry! Do you really have to tug so hard?!"

The girl tilted her head in thought, "... Yep! Now hold still so I can put on the plating." Grabbing her tools, she began to put on the final touches, "So where are you going to break your arm again?"

Ed grumbled, "Who said I was going to break it…?"

"We're thinking about doing some digging in Central." Al spoke since Ed had gotten hit on the head again by Winry.

Deidara smirked widely. Perfect, he's been dying to return to the rest of the Akatsuki and as much as he enjoys Itachi's company now, he's not exactly the most entertaining of people to be around, "I'll go get our tickets, un."

 _Back in Central_

"Miss. Konan, what's this word?"

"Let's see… the word is 'harmony', it's similar to the word 'peace'. But it is also what happens when many tones of music work together."

"Oh! Mommy, I learned a new word!" Elicia happily announced the news to her mother who was preparing lunch while Konan was helping her learn to read. Ever since Hughes' death, Konan's taken it upon herself to show up every few days to help with watching Elicia. The capitol building has become suffocating, too much for her taste, and the little family was just enough normality for the kunoichi.

"That's wonderful sweetheart. Lunch is done, put the book away please." Gracia sat down a tray of sandwiches while her daughter put the picture book back on the shelf, "Thank you for helping her learn to read, Konan. She'll be starting school soon and I wanted her to at least be prepared for it."

"It's no problem, it's also helping me understand this country's alphabet better." Konan picked up a sandwich and took a delicate bite from it, "I can't stay for long though, I need to head back to the military building to get some more reading material for Sasori."

Gracia sighed, "I never see him, it can't be healthy for a boy his age to be locked up in a room all the time." Shortly after Deidara and Itachi left with the Elric brothers, Konan applied for a small house for them all to live in without having to spend a ridiculous amount of money on Central hotels. Needless to say that Sasori became an instant hermit since he has no need for necessities and only comes out to do spy work for Konan. Hidan's been kept on a close leash, but he seemed pleased with his work in the prisons as an executioner… well, at least it kept him out of trouble.

"I'll pass the message." Konan dismissed the statement smoothly, "Thank you for your hospitality as always." She got up to leave when a small mass hugged her legs. This little ritual has only gotten more common the more frequently Konan visits, "I'll be back soon little one, I promise."

Elicia tightened her hug before letting go, "You promised!"

Konan stepped out of the apartment, letting the door close behind her and she made her way to the main building via flight. She ignored two military officials dragging away a boy wearing a yellow coat and white puffy pants but smiled when she sensed Itachi and Deidara's chakras nearby.

Landing at the building, not many stopped to watch her form back into human shape. Not like they would get any information out of her anyway, even the higher-ups have all but given up save for the Fuhrer and his closest subordinates. Though that didn't stop civilians passing by from stopping and staring since Konan only does this when she's in a rush.

The first person she encountered was her former "escort" Livius, "Oh, hello again Blue Rose Alchemist, are you hurrying off to something?"

Konan kept her eyes cold, "You'll be pleased to know that the rest of my men have finally returned to Central, I expect them to have no problems with coming into the building." With that, she briskly walked past him as he gave her a salute that almost felt as if he was mocking her. She personally was hoping to witness the day that one's Philosopher's stone breaks.

After a few minutes of walking, she finally found who she was looking for, "Colonel Mustang." She nodded to him in greetings, then tilted her head to see that Ed and Al were standing in front of them, "Welcome back to Central you two."

"Miss. Konan! How are you and the others? Colonel Mustang told us that Hughes retired." Al greeted Konan with the enthusiasm of a puppy, reminding Konan why she was determined to keep these to safe. They're still just children.

"I'm learning a lot about alchemy with Sasori, and Hidan got a job not too long ago…" She gave Mustang a sharp gaze for his lie which he avoided to look at, "Roy-" She ignored Ed choking on air from the first name usage, "may I borrow your office while you're in your meeting?"

Roy gave her a grin, seemingly trying to cheer himself up, "Sure, but you owe me a date." He threw his head back to let out a hearty but forced laugh, and with each "ha" it got weaker and weaker when he realized no one was laughing, especially Konan, "Uh… ahem. Yes, yes you may use my office as long as you don't touch any of the paperwork…" Again, the woman remained stone-faced, "You didn't find my joke very funny, did you?"

Ed mumbled under his breath, "If you ask me, it wasn't very funny."

"I wasn't asking you, Fullmetal."

Konan let out a half sigh, "No, I don't find you all that attractive." If anything, she found him rather lame and useless especially when compared to Nagato or Yahiko. Turning around, she headed for his office, preparing paper clones to gather her men. She could hear Roy telling the brothers some more things, but she blocked them out until he caught up with her, obviously wanting to have his mood lifted before the meeting.

Roy's shoulders slump, "Do you even have a type?"

She stopped in front of the office door, opening it and stepping inside, "Yes." Without hesitance, she slammed the door in his face.

Roy uncharacteristically gawked at the door, then to Riza, "She didn't even tell me what her type was, can you believe her?"

Without missing a beat, "Yes." Riza dragged her colonel to the meeting with her eyes closed and pretty much being the adult in this pair. She felt a wave of gratitude for Konan though, that little interaction made the colonel more expressive in a few minutes than he has been the past few days.

Back in the office, Konan pushed open the windows just in time for Deidara and Itachi to appear in the room. Her paper clones were still collecting Sasori and Hidan, "We'll catch up when everyone is here…"

Deidara slumped down in one of the leather couches Mustang owned, "Just for clarification, do all Homunculus fall under the order, un?"

Konan shook her head, "No, until Mustang is able to collect political and militaristic support, Bradley is off-limits. We will also need to let someone else handle 'Pride', or better known as Selim Bradley. The rest are free reign when you can get your hands on them."

"Selim… Selim…" Deidara knocked on his forehead to remember that name, "I think I heard of that name, that's Bradley's kid right, un?"

"Correct. He can control shadows as far as I am aware, or rather he is the shadows themselves. For political reasons, we cannot touch him because he looks like a child. According to Sasori's spy network, the remaining Homunculi we know are Lust, Gluttony, Pride, and Envy. If we follow this trend of the 7 deadly sins, that leaves Wrath, Sloth, and Greed-"

Itachi interrupted, "We met Greed, he was a separate force from the others, but was taken into custody by the military. No doubt he was destroyed." He watched as relief seemed to seep from the woman, "Are you alright?"

"The tension here has been unbearable… You two are late." She didn't look at the window as Sasori and Hidan hopped in with ease.

"Dei-chan! How have ya been you fucker!" Hidan all but tackled Deidara into a hug, giving the annoyed, younger male a noogie, "I missed you too much, do you know how boring it is being with these pole-asses?"

"Get the hell off me, Hidan!" Deidara barely managed to wiggle free, his hair in complete disarray as half of the hair in his ponytail was trying to fall out of its ribbon. Blowing some hair out of his face -that really did nothing to help- he waved to Sasori, "Danna, we found a town you'll love to see."

"Brat." Sasori returned the greeting, casually heading over to stand by his partner's side, "Are you injured at all?"

Deidara waved his hand dismissively, "Nah, hurt my ankle a couple days ago but I'm fine, un. Been improving my art to work with alchemy."

"Deidara get it through your skull, your explosions are not art and alchemy was not made for destroying. It was made to shape new things that would improve on the former and last longer."

"No way! There is plenty of alchemy that is meant to destroy things. If you put the opposites together, you create an explosion that could rival my art, un!'

Sasori's stomach cable slowly slide out to point at his partner threateningly, "And I'm saying that it's not art. However, it seems you haven't learned anything from being around Itachi."

"Don't you just miss this?" Hidan casually used Itachi's shoulder as an armrest, "It's been too fucking quiet here and I'm not allowed in most public places, bet you two have had some excitement… that or you two argued."

Itachi blinked, "Quite the opposite, we got along within days."

"Hang on a second." Hidan shoved a finger in his ear in a mock way of cleaning, "Did you fucking say you and blondie got along? I thought you two hated each other?!" At this point, Deidara and Sasori were on the brink of all-out war over their art… and now Hidan is also yelling. The faintest twitches could be seen on both Itachi and Konan's eyes.

Konan slowly made her way over to the window to look outside and to also distance herself from the noise. She did miss the energy and while she would never admit it, she was thanking whatever higher power that existed here that her men were returned safely. Hughes' murder was one stroke of bad luck, but now there have been reports of Scar's return… She'll need to be more careful with when she sends her men out… if they could just take care of a few Homunculus…

She blinked when two figures ran out of the building. It was Ed and Al, 'They must have learned the truth.' Those boys are strong, they'll learn to become better people because of this and learn to value life more. But at the same time she hopes that Mustang will be able to avenge his best friend's death, 'Maybe I should tell him who to hunt for…'

* * *

 **You guys have no idea how happy I am to finally have the Akatsuki in one group.**

 **Just a heads up: Because my beta and I are concerned that I am getting burnt out from this plot (which would mean I risk abandoning this fic), I'm going to start doing more time skips to speed along to the parts of the story that I am invested in. Story wise, I believe that the Akatsuki are more comfortable with the world of Amestris and don't feel the need to follow around the fmab characters like lost puppies anymore. Not to mention we are soon getting to plotlines that in reality, they would not give a Kyuubi's ass about like the Maria Ross bit since they know the truth. Though they will have some involvements, they will not be the ones to take initiative.**

 **Also the chances are low, but if you do not see an update the next 2 weeks as usual, it may be because I was too swamped with work to finish the chapter and it'll most likely show up the following week. This applies for the rest of the fall until mid-December because I am taking classes that require a lot of my time. If you have questions do feel free to PM me, I will respond. I'm trying my hardest to not let this go on hiatus because of school like many other fanfiction writers sadly have to do. So if spreading the updates more will help my stress but still have content for you guys, then I'll go that route.**

*The Akatsuki are culturally Japanese, so a name like Lan Fan sounds odd to their ears because L sounds and Fa sounds do not exist in their native tongue. I'm going with the idea that there will be some culture shock between the Xing people and the Akatsuki since the cultures are extremely similar in some ways, but completely different in others. Please note this does not reflect my opinions on Lan Fan, I love her character to bits, but I'm also someone that has very little knowledge on how non-Japanese names work.

 **With each update we get closer and closer to the first Homunculus death.**

 **As always, reviews are loved and I will see you guys in the next update.**

 **Bye!**


	13. Black flames and Red Sparks

**Alright, first things first, this chapter pretty much skips episodes 17-18 and resumes to episode 19 of FMAB. I decided that the Akatsuki would really not care about what happened in between those two episodes and had only a little bit of responsibility in helping Maria Ross. I won't be doing this all the time, just whenever I look at an episode and think "yeahhhh the Akatsuki wouldn't be in this". Like I said before, this is to prevent me from being burnt out.**

 **Thank you guys for the fave, follows and reviews, we hit 100 followers! Woohoo! Thank you so much for the growing support!**

 **BloodPokemon101: It's fine, the Homunculi are honestly really pathetic when compared to about 90% of the Naruto cast, but Sloth honestly would be scary to fight because while he is lazy, he is faaaaaassssssttttttt (ironic that his name is Sloth). Also yeah, for me the day-to-day stuff is taking this fic episode by episode, not a huge fan and only did it in the beginning because there was so much heavy stuff. But now that the plot is going all over the place I have to pick my battles.**

 **Greer123: I'm doing really well! Thank you for checking in! :D I'm still deciding how I'm gonna use Ling/ how the Akatsuki will handle Greedling, but I think I can have some fun with it.**

 **princessbinas: I'll use that as a side story later on in the plot! I'll have some fun making the art duo argue in front of Ed and Al, but only when the plot gives me space to breathe. I honestly can never tell if Sasori actively tries to hurt Deidara, but I don't think he would because… well… Sasori risks having Tobi as a partner… no one wants Tobi as a partner lol.**

 **MelonLordOfMelons: Heeeeeyyy! Glad to see you back!**

 **Warning: Swearing, violence, my usual humor, character death, skipping some plot points.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own FMAB or Naruto.**

* * *

Konan watched as Ed and Al ran out of her sights and looked over to her men, two of which were STILL arguing at a volume that made her wonder if Roy soundproofed his office, "I'm going to tell Mustang about the Homunculi." That was enough to silence the room, "I have no intention of telling him who killed Hughes, only giving him enough information to start looking around."

Itachi's eyes shifted around the room, not sensing the natural kill intent that radiates from the Homunculi, "What is there to gain from informing him?"

"Two things: Mustang's complete distrust of the government and his alliance. I've seen his alchemy, and it's… possibly the only alchemy that we do not want to be aimed at us. He can pinpoint flames to light the smallest of targets or burn down whole buildings." The rest could remain unspoken as Konan's eyes never left Itachi's.

Itachi's shoulders slacked, a rare sign of defeat, "I will be unable to recreate Amaterasu."

"There will be no need for you to recreate it, you just need to learn the basics. It'll help with future missions back home." Konan responded and everyone noted the wording. How odd, to think they would refer to their world or even the Akatsuki base itself "home". The Kunoichi headed for the door. "Sasori, Hidan, show them where our house is. I want everyone back by nightfall."

She didn't wait for a response and instead left the room. Finding Mustang was easy, the meeting was in one place and all she had to do was wait. When he finally appeared, he had his hands over his eyes, obviously tired from whatever was being talked about and had yet to notice her "Colonel."

Mustang jumped a foot in the air, clutching his chest, "That hurt my heart… phew. I hate that you guys can walk without making a sound." He made an offended face, "What happened to 'Roy'?"

Konan raised an eyebrow, sensing Livius was within earshot, "Shall we go grab a coffee? There's no rain today." She gestured out to the clear but orange sky as it was getting late.

Mustang blinked, over the last couple of weeks, Konan has trained him to know that whenever she spoke of rain, it was important matters, "I know a little shop that's private. Lieutenant, mind putting my paperwork aside for the next hour?"

Riza, who was also in the loop, saluted, "Yes, no slacking off when you get back, sir." Turning on her heel she left for his office.

Mustang winked, "Just give me a moment to change, Konan." He headed for the men's bathroom and changed into civilian clothes, though he was disappointed in the fact that Konan seemed to pretty much live in that damn cloak. He can tell she has a good figure, but trying to see what she actually looks like is impossible, "Do you not own other clothes?"

"Let's go." Ah yes, always brushing off his questions. Hanging his head low, Mustang lead Konan to a small coffee shop about 20 minutes away from the military building. Ordering coffee and sitting in the farthest corner of the shop, Konan rested her head against her palm, "I know who was responsible for Hughes' murder."

Thankfully, Mustang wasn't drinking coffee, or that would have been a painful moment for the Colonel, "Who?!"

"I do not have the proof, nor names, but ones that killed him were Homunculus."

"Homunculus… How could those exist…? Why do you- Nevermind, it's obvious you encountered them before." Mustang waved his hand in front of his face to stop Konan from saying anything sarcastic, "What are their distinct characteristics?"

"All of them have different appearances and powers, we believe that the one that killed Hughes could shapeshift… however," Konan reached into her cloak and pulled out a folded piece of paper, "every single one of them has this somewhere on their body." Placing the paper on the table, she used her pointer to slide it over to Mustang.

Roy picked up the paper, quirking an eyebrow at the Oroborus mark, "Assuming I don't believe this?"

"Then whoever the Homunculus turned into will be the scapegoat. Do be aware that when they questioned Hidan, one of their first suspects was me even though I was with Armstrong at the time. If they are willing to question a woman who has no motives for killing Hughes, imagine who they would point a finger at when there are conveniently no alibis available."

A lump rested in Mustang's throat. Yes, they would do something like that. Even with it being a few weeks now, the public still demanded answers, hell most of the military still demanded answers and even though Konan and her men obviously know what happened no one could get them to talk! But if the only characteristic is a tattoo, they'll be hiding it at all times… how do you find a wolf among sheep...

Konan stood up from her seat, "I suggest destroying that paper… Oh… if you injure a Homunculus, they'll heal instantly with red sparks. Happy hunting." She left the shop with an odd feeling that could only be described as giddy.

Unlike back home, Konan had to put aside her thoughts and morals for the greater good of the Akatsuki. Hunting the Jinchuuriki was nothing to celebrate to her, it was just another step towards her and Nagato's goals… but now? Hunting these Homunculi may be the most excitement she has felt in a long time.

When Konan returned to the house, she noticed that a certain Uchiha's chakra was missing, "Where is Itachi?"

"Itachi left to go try a restaurant that he had seen on our way towards the military building, something about wanting to try their soup, un." Everyone stopped to look at Deidara, "What?"

Hidan rubbed his face, "Okay, this is fucking weird. What in the name of Jashin did you two do to make you two not hate each other and have you refer to him by his first name?"

"..." Deidara crossed his arms, tilting his head towards the ceiling, "Good question… we just talked about our reasons for why we dislike each other, though that was mostly me talking, then we strategize."

Konan actually sighed of relief, "Finally…" Cue the odd stares, "I'll inform Pein when we return to put you and Itachi on a few missions together. We have had some missions sitting around that would benefit from you two working together."

Deidara raised an eyebrow, but shrugged, not saying anything about it. Hidan went to go bash his head against a wall somewhere. Sasori didn't care.

A couple of hours later and the moon about to completely rise, Itachi quietly walked into the Akatsuki's house, papers in his hand and his attention focused exclusively on it. He was too absorbed into whatever the papers said, however, because he walked right into Hidan, "What the fuck?! Why the goddamn name of Jashin are you not fucking paying attention to where you are going?"

"I got a job…" Everyone halted in whatever task they were doing to stare at Itachi, his eyes were glazed over like he was in a genjutsu and yet, he was not.

Konan walked over to remove the papers from Itachi's hands, they were signed application papers, "I thought you went out to eat dinner?"

"I did." Itachi jolted out of his daze and rubbed his eyes, "A restaurant caught my attention and I wished to try the food. While waiting to be seated, a few teenage girls-" He didn't notice that half of the room groaned, instantly knowing where this was going, "mistook me for a waiter-" Of course they did, "and the next thing I knew I was taking their orders. They ordered two iced coffees and a milkshake for drinks with all three ordering steaks, one medium, one well-done and one that was quote 'mostly bloody but with a side of spicy sauce and don't forget the potatoes'. It took the staff two hours to realize I wasn't a waiter because my clothes were the same color as the others, but at that point, I had five other tables ordering things. No one questioned why I didn't have an apron or notepad. The shop owner offered me a job because I could remember things better than others and not long after I was waiting tables there was a sudden increase in women… I didn't even get to try the food yet."

Everyone but Itachi slowly raised their hands up to their noses, and pinched the bridges of them. No one was shocked in all honesty, they just couldn't believe Itachi would be in this situation so quickly.

Konan exhaled through her nose, "It's good you are going to have something to keep you occupied, this paper says you start work tomorrow. I trust you know what to do while working."

Itachi instantly returned to his shinobi posture, "Of course. The restaurant serves alcohol to adults, I'll loosen the tongues of those with military connections and gather information through them."

"Good, you're dismissed." Konan returned the papers to Itachi and relaxed into a chair, "While Itachi and Hidan have jobs and I may be stuck in Central… Sasori, Deidara." The art duo snapped to attention, "I want you two to remain flexible at all times, go where I need trusted ears and eyes to be."

Sasori tilted his head ever so slightly, "Did your time in Central really do nothing for you to trust the people here?" Granted, Sasori's been a shut-in for the past couple weeks, trying to use alchemy for his poisons with some success -and some people going missing of course-, but he knows that Konan is gone most of the day.

Konan eyed the windows, "No… not in the military at least. I trust Mustang and his men enough for answers, and Armstrong can keep a secret… but none of them have the power to travel freely. Gracia and her daughter have suffered enough, they don't need to be involved in any conflict."

Sasori returned to his puppet leg, "Fair enough, those in the Akatsuki are the only ones that would never betray you." He eyes his younger partner who had returned to his clay.

Hidan snorted, "Yeah, because Leader would fucking kill us when we returned. Not like he could fucking kill me… but he'd damn well make my immortal life full of shit." No one wanted to admit it, but they all believed if given the chance Hidan would be the first to ditch the Akatsuki.

 _The very next day_

"What the fuck is this shit?!" Both Deidara and Itachi jolted awake from their, finally, separate rooms at the exact same time. They've been away from Hidan for so long, have had so many peaceful nights, they nearly forgotten that Hidan traditionally served as the Akatsuki's alarm clock when Tobi wasn't present. It also helped that Kakuzu was often the first of the members to leave for a mission in the morning, thus dragging the zealot with him. Itachi was an early riser, but this morning he just felt exhausted.

Deidara let out a groan and tried to push himself up, but his arms instantly gave out when a familiar hand pushed down on his back.

"Go back to sleep brat. It's not even 8." Sasori rolled his eyes as he examined his younger partner.

Deidara's eyes were glossed over with sleep, obviously his brain was not connecting reality as he promptly said, "Yeah mom…" And his head slammed back onto his pillow.

'He's lucky he fell back asleep.' Sasori waited for the telltale sign of his partner returning to dreamland, rapid eye movement, then went into the living room to see Hidan staring at a newspaper, "Hidan, that is a newspaper, you read it and when you are done you turn the page."

"Fuck you! I know what a newspaper is!" Hidan seethed and flailed the paper in front of Sasori, "Read this shitty article!"

Sasori grabbed Hidan's wrist so he could actually scan the page until the one Hidan was most likely talking about caught his attention, "Maria Ross?"

"Yes! They're blaming her for all this shit!" Hidan slammed the newspaper on the coffee table, "I'm gonna go over there and give them a fucking piece of my mind!"

"You will do no such thing." The two looked to their left to see Konan casually leaning against the doorframe. This was the first time the men had seen her in sleepwear, a dark blue tank top with shorts that made Hidan's eyes linger long enough where he would have been decapitated in any other situation, "This does not concern us. I already told Mustang that the real killer is a homunculus, and unless he's lost the ability to think, he should know Maria is not one."

Hidan threw his hands in the air sending papers flying everywhere, "But she's the only bitch in this Jashin-forsaken world that actually asks about my fucking religion!" Sure, she was most likely doing it out of politeness, but she genuinely asked him questions and absorbed his answers like a sponge! That's more than he could say about others!

"In any case, do keep your voice down, it's early in the morning and Deidara is still asleep. I should still be asleep. The sun is barely in the sky…" Konan rubbed her forehead, "Why are you awake? The only one that should be awake is Itachi-" She blinked rapidly as her chakra functioned as a substitute caffeine boost, "why is Itachi not up yet? He has work soo-"

The sound of a window opening and closing made everyone tense up. Someone ran on top of their roof and then jumped off. Looking outside, the three saw Itachi shinobi running down the nearly empty sidewalk. Well, at least the Uchiha was up as usual.

The rest of the morning went rather smoothly for the Akatsuki's standards. Sasori woke Deidara up at 8:15 sharp, Konan experimented a new recipe that honestly turned out pretty well and Hidan did the dishes. No Tobi to scream in their ears, no Kakuzu to chop off Hidan's head and no missions to force Sasori and Deidara to be near each other and bicker. In fact, the atmosphere was so relaxed, everyone but Sasori remained in their sleepwear, no one had the intention of leaving the house for anything.

Then the doorbell rang and the momentary harmony was squashed like an Aburame bug.

Knowing full well it wasn't Gracia and her kid since Konan made sure they never visited, Hidan threw open the door, "THE FUCK YOU WAN-..." The Akatsuki waited in perfect silence when Hidan suddenly went mute for a split second, "Oi, Konan! Fireass is here!" He then slammed the door in the person's face. They could faintly hear muffled sputtering on the other side.

"Hidan… go away." Konan walked right in the direction of Hidan, forcing him to move out of her way. Slipping on her Akatsuki cloak to hide her pajamas and she reopened the door, "Good morning Colonel. Why are you here." Her tone was flat as per usual, not a question but a demand.

Mustang chuckled nervously at the greeting, "Always straight to the point. May I come in?" He stepped in when Konan stepped aside, "Thank you. I'm here-" He stopped, looking Konan up and down, noting from the shin down was bare save for house slippers. His head snapped to the side to note that, yes, Hidan was shirtless, Deidara was in pajamas and Sasori- of course, he's fully dressed.

"Is there a problem, Colonel?"

The Colonel coughed into his hand, "No, I uh…Actually, did you really throw on your coat because I was here?" No response, "Gah… nevermind. I wasn't expecting everyone to be dressed so casually. I'm um… here to speak with Sasori."

Sasori didn't look over, hell he barely reacted, "What do you want?"

Mustang bristled at the redhead's blatant rudeness, "I have a favor to ask… you know how bodies are made correct? Konan said that you are familiar with the human anatomy."

On the opposite end of the room, Deidara snorted, "Uh huh… he knows anatomy, that's for sure- Hidan get your head out of the gutter, un." He glared at Hidan who went into a snicker fest in the kitchen.

"Idiots…" Sasori sighed, holding up the arm and moving the joints, "I have some ideas, what did you need my help in." Roy was about to open his mouth, "It's about Maria Ross, correct?"

Roy sighed, "Has anyone told any of you that your mind reading abilities are horrifying?" No one made a comment, "...Ahem, yes. It's about Ross."

Sasori sighed and pushed himself up, grabbing a piece of paper and handing it to Roy, "Find a way to discreetly gather these materials and don't bother giving me her medical information. I already gathered enough from every person in that entire building." Except for Bradley, because that man has no records to speak of.

Roy took the paper with hesitance, "Al...Alright?" He eyed the paper, noting that the majority of the stuff required was meat, "How would this even work?"

"I have contacts in that building…" Helps when the medical head is susceptible to his jutsu, "Talk to Knox, he should be allowed in the loop of information."

"He already is." Giving Konan a swift nod, Mustang left the house.

The moment Roy was gone, Konan ditched her Akatsuki cloak which warranted an odd look from Deidara, "Why do you wear the cloak around him, but not around us, un?"

Konan's eyes trailed to the ceiling, a slight sparkle could be spotted, "... I feel amusement in his disappointment." No one bothered to question her logic, Roy was pretty hilarious when knocked down a few pegs.

 _A few hours later with Itachi_

It always pays to focus on the acting skills taught in the shinobi academy. A kunoichi could go from a timid chef to a seductive concubine for an assassination mission. And as for a shinobi, they could go from an S-rank criminal known for slaughtering an entire clan-

"Mr. Uchiha~ We're ready to order~!"

To a well-mannered waiter for intelligence gathering.

Itachi walked to a table that had about 5 women around his age, giggling and trying to hide their blushes behind their menus, "What may I serve you, ladies?" He figured out within the first 3 tables that if he smiled at just the right amount, tilt his head, and let a calming level of chakra out, they end up either ordering more food than expected or leave larger tips. Needless to say, the manager made him wait on tables with a large number of women.

Writing down the order in neat, Amestris alphabet, Itachi gave the order to the chef and returned to the door to greet any more new guests, one that particularly caught his attention, "You're one of Colonel Mustang's men, correct?"

Havoc blinked in surprise that someone would recognize him, "Oh! You're that dark haired guy that works for Konan. Yeah, I'm Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc. I'm here with my date, are there any tables open?"

Itachi looked over to scan the tables, noting that there were no empty tables as expected for a lunch rush. However, there were some adults that had finished ten minutes ago and were merely sitting at their table talking… they could use the exercise, "I'll have one cleaned and prepared for you and your date in a moment. Please wait to be seated."

Any other situation, Itachi would have let these people enjoy their sitting in peace. However… Havoc may provide interesting information, not to mention the man would owe him a favor if Itachi made their date go smoothly. Reaching the table, he activated his sharingan, putting the table in a genjutsu. The group slowly got up, still talking, and left the restaurant to be anywhere but there and Itachi deactivated his eyes as fast as he activated them. No one saw what happened.

Returning to Havoc, he gave the man his usual "I'm just a humble waiter" smile, "Your table is ready if you and your date would like to sit."

"That's great, come along Solaris." Havoc stood up, holding the hand of- Oh… Konan is going to have a field day.

"That was rather quick, but then again with such a handsome face I too would be willing to do as you say." Itachi face remained unchanged as Solaris- no, Lust- Smirked at him, in one arm was a bouquet of flowers. Her clothes were tragically modest for a woman with her figure, no doubt meant to hide her tattoo above her cleavage but Itachi was never one to forget a face.

"Hey now, you're dating me remember?" Havoc chuckled teasingly as he led his date to their table.

"Of course, I'm not the kind of girl to jump from one man to another… I like to keep what interests me." Lust responded smoothly, the act of flirting was natural in Itachi's ears. No doubt if she was from their world she would have been perfect for any spy mission that required a disguise.

 _Several days later_

If apathy killed, the entire population of Amestris would be dead.

Had all of these events happened a week ago, the Akatsuki would have jumped to participate just to learn more about this world. But that didn't happen this time around. Sasori gave Mustang the fake body that looked almost too similar to Maria Ross for the man's comfort, and afterward, the Akatsuki remained as far away from all of the drama.

Ed headed out to Resembool with Armstrong, hatred radiating out of the shorter brother towards Mustang the entire time they boarded the train. Konan only showed up to watch the train leave.

The only thing that kept them from following the brothers was the looming threat that was Lust. A Homunculus that they could very well kill was wondering around Central, one of Mustang's men wrapped around her perfectly manicured pinky. They couldn't get near her yet, not with so many people around. They needed to get her away from people…. they just needed an opportunity…

An explosion coming from a high tower would suffice.

Without hesitation the Akatsuki had their cloaks on and running out of their house, "Oi, blondie, are you sure that isn't one of your shitty artwork?"

Deidara growled as he skillfully jumped over a speeding car that was… tailing a rather ugly suit of armor? "Shut the hell up Hidan before I shove my art up your ass and turn you into one of my masterpieces, un!"

"Professionalism men." Konan's words silenced the two loudmouths and she easily caught up with the car, much to the shock of both the driver and the passengers, "Where are we going?"

Roy's mouth hanged open and checked that they were doing at least 45 miles in Riza's car, "W-we're following Barry's human body. H-how are you…?!"

"Itachi, tail." Everyone in the car flinched as a thud landed on the car, "You know what to do, we won't be far." Konan suddenly stopped running. Al and Roy stuck their heads out of the car only to notice a distinct lack of Konan or her men, though it didn't take a genius to realize Itachi was sitting on the car.

A bead of sweat rolled down Riza's neck as she subconsciously began to consider the unseen passenger when she made a violent left. She expected to see a teenage body just tumble to the road, but there was nothing, "Sir, Itachi has yet to fall off the car."

"I'm not surprised, just keep driving Lieutenant." Mustang's stomach lurched when Riza seemed to take his command a little too literally and took another hard turn.

Barry's body ran into an impressively large building compared to the surrounding structures, the 3rd Laboratory. Al climbed out of the car to see Itachi jump off the car, "Um… Mr. Itachi?" If Al was in a human body, he would have flinched at the Uchiha's bright red eyes that seemed to wait until Riza and Roy also look at him. Like the flipping of a switch, Itachi ran up the gate walls and- wait- running up the walls?!

'Time to add another tic on my ever-growing list of weird things these guys can do…' Roy thought with disbelief. All he had could do was watch as Itachi squatted down at the top of the wall, and then spring up and was… gone, just gone, "I'm… just going to stop questioning this…"

They didn't have time to question it when Barry went barreling into the building.

 _With Itachi_

Running and genjutsu, genjutsu and running. What should be draining Itachi of all of his energy and chakra was almost child's play as he used the most basics of acrobatics to dodge doctors and guards alike. The killing intent in this building was radiating from within the basement, he just needed to find the door- aha, there it is. Of course, he would never say that out loud, Uchiha's do not "Aha" for anything.

Footsteps were rushing in his direction, if he was spotted by anyone now, their plans would be ruined. Opening the door, Itachi kept to speed and stealth as he went farther and farther down until the killing intent was almost swallowing him into its hatred.

But this wasn't like the Curse of Hatred that flowed within his veins, this was just a creature made from the lives of others.

Trailing down the metallic hallway, Itachi came across an almost bare room. Walls, floor, ceiling, all white and void of life save for a pair of ominously dark doors. Yes… this was perfect, the room almost invited guests to approach it. All Itachi had to do was stay there… and wait.

And the wait was anything but lengthy.

Riza and Alphonse ran into the room, not noticing Itachi at all and focusing on the door. Itachi kept his eyes glued to the main entrance of the room as Lust appeared, looking smug as per usual and Riza pulled out her gun.

"It's a shame that you had to see so much kid, you would have made a perfect sacrifice… but I guess I'll need to send you and the Lieutenant to join her superior." Her smirk grew as she walked towards the two, noticing Riza's hands begin to shake.

"No way… there's no way you… you didn't kill… You bitch!" Tears threatened to spill from Riza's eyes as she began to shoot. Lust staggered backwards with each shot, and every time Hawkeye ran out of bullets she would drop her current gun for a new one, screaming the entire time.

Click, click, click. No more bullets came out of the 3rd gun, Lust straightened herself out and allowed her body to regenerate, "Are you done with that?" She lifted her hand up to adjust her hair as the realization of Roy's apparent death sent the blond woman to her knees, "What a sad and pathetic creature… typical human … I'll reunite the two of you in the afterlife."

Al stepped forward to block Riza from Lust, ready to fight when he suddenly clapped his hands together. A stone wall formed just in time for a stream of fire to engulf Lust and she could only register it enough to let out a pained gasp.

"Looks like I can get you on your knees after all." Roy hobbled into the room, one hand clutching a poorly burned up wound on his side as Lust struggled to get up, "It was difficult, nearly passed out a few times but I was able to sear the wound shut. You said I wouldn't be able to kill you," He ignites the lighter in his hands to send another wave of flames on Lust, "Let's see if I can prove you wrong!"

Each flick of the lighter caused more and more screams to escape Lust's throat, how many times has she died? She lost count after the 5th one, but something told her she didn't have many lives left. If she could just stab Mustang it would all be over.

Suddenly, Mustang stopped.

Lust breathed heavily while her body was regenerating, Riza and Al poked their heads out to see Mustang standing there, stiff as a board, "Giving up already? Well, I'll enjoy ending your life!" Lust shot out her finger, but it stopped just before it could even touch Mustang's nose, "Wh-what?"

Then Riza and Al saw it. Roy wasn't standing there out of a sudden decision of mercy, he was shaking as if some invisible force was keeping him still. Lust was also shaking as she tried to break free of the seemingly unknown force. Riza went for her knife when she also halted in her movements, "What's happening?" Beside her, Al was frozen as well.

Lust was thrown to the side, able to move again and everyone else only had the ability to turn their heads. As if materializing out of nowhere, there stood Sasori in his cloak, arm stretched forward and fingers gracefully hanging there, "I got tired of waiting."

"S-Sasori?" Mustang growled when he finally put two-and-two together, "You can control people?"

"He's not called a puppet master for nothing, un." Deidara materialized next to Sasori, "Remember me you over-glorified wannabe immortal?"

"You… HOW DARE YOU TALK DOWN TO ME!" Lust shot out her finger again as she was free from Sasori's hold, only to let out a pained scream when a clay spider hopped onto her hip and exploded on contact.

Deidara smirked and held out his hand, making Riza and Mustang pale at the sight of the wide grin resting on his palm, "I can talk down to you all I want." He shrugged and crossed his arms, "Alright, I had my revenge and got to use my art for something enjoyable for once. Have fun, Konan and Itachi, un."

"I hate that Konan and Uchiha bastard get all the fun this time around…" Now all of the Akatsuki materialized, Hidan was the one that complained obviously, "I want to fucking sacrifice one of these bastards."

Konan coldly stared at Lust, "You will eventually…" She too held out her hand, except unlike Sasori her fingers were pointed at an upward angle, "but this is to send a message." Paper flew from her arm and covered Lust's body. She tried to rip the paper apart but it soon tightened around her, any usage of her Ultimate Spear only gained her a few holes in her confinements, "Itachi."

Itachi took a step forward, eyes already spinning red. Both the Amestris people and Lust's blood ran cold when they realized everyone had the same look in their eyes, the uncaring, unwavering eyes of a killer who's forgotten what mercy meant.

If Al could, he would be trembling at the feeling he was getting from the room, "Wh-what are you going to do?!"

"Look away Alphonse, this is not something I want a child to see." He eyes Mustang who looked to not understand what was about to happen, "Do not become a hypocrite when I am done with it." Another moment of fear. "It"... that's what the Akatsuki saw the homunculi, they're not humans born from alchemy, they're just… an "it".

Itachi closed his eyes, blood poured from his right eye and he snapped it open, his red eyes now held a new pattern, "Amaterasu!"

And the screaming returned.

Everyone had the option to look away, but no one could stop watching as black flames ate away at the paper and the homunculus. Lust screamed in breathless agony as her body burned, then regenerated, then burned again, her red sparks mixing almost poetically with the black flames. There was no snapping of fingers, no growls of rage, in fact, Itachi didn't even have red eyes anymore, only his black eyes as he used Konan as a form of support. Then there was laughter as Hidan collapsed on the ground, howling with glee like this was the best thing he has seen in weeks.

Konan moved her eyes away from the sight before her to looked around the room, knowing that the shadows may have ears, "Let this inform any homunculus that are listening... the Akatsuki are done playing games." Pity that Lust received this death, it was too much of an overkill, but that's what she gets for playing around shinobi.

Even as Lust's last life ended and her body began to disintegrate into nothing she still burned, still screamed, still suffered. The pain made her lose the right to think, to understand, to have any moment of peace… only agony. When she opened her eyes for the last time… all she saw was red clouds on a black background… and then her Philosopher's stone… the thing that gave her life… that too, burned with the black flames.

* * *

 **So um… that happened. I'm honestly not a big fan of Lust. Characters like Envy are ones that I SHOULD hate with how awful his actions in the show/manga are (starting a war, Hughes' death, ect.) but he is such a joy to watch that he ended up becoming one of my favorite characters. Lust… bores me to tears, so everything she does makes my dislike for her even worse.**

 **I think besides Lust's death, Itachi getting a job was the most amusing thing my brain told me to write, it's such an Itachi thing to happen. It's also a little jab at how customers in stores and such would assume other customers work there because of how they're dresses.**

 **Next chapter will contain… uh… I forgot what happens next, I'll need to look up the episodes later because I don't think the Akatsuki will be meeting Hohenheim this time around.**

 **But either way, as always, reviews are loved and I'll see you guys in the next update!**

 **Bye!**


	14. Scars and Pastries

**Hey guys, sorry for the delayed posts, not much I can do when college and life come banging at my door. Anytime I miss a deadline I will be posting an update on my profile sometime the week of an expected update. So check my profile every once in a while to see if there will not be an update, I mostly just didn't want to waste everyone's time by posting a notice in the fanfic.**

 **The main story is a little shorter than normal but I added a sidestory in the process.**

 **Thank you guys for the fave, follows and reviews!**

 **grimlock987: I'm not going to be doing any scenes from the FMA anime, while it does amuse me I don't see any way to fit it in the story. Sorry.**

 **Greer123: Hidan gets a kick out of everyone dying, I think minus Hughes any deaths he's encountered is the equivalent to a kid at a birthday party with all-you-can-eat sweets.**

 **Guest: Greed will definately be an interesting encounter considering the Akatsuki want to kill all of the Homunculi.**

 **princessbinas: Not to mention Itachi can use his Uchiha charm to woo ladies, lol. I may add more side stories or mini events of Itachi while he works at the restaurant.**

 **serus black antihumannature: Nice username btw. Thanks for taking the time to binge my story!**

 **Warning: Hidan's dirty mouth, violence, some gore, it's the usual song and dance.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own FMAB or Naruto**

* * *

Konan's cold eyes landed on the Amestrisians who remained paralyzed in Sasori's chakra strings, "Sasori."

Without hesitation, Sasori cut his chakra strings from the others and got into a relaxed fighting stance along with Deidara and Hidan, who were anything but relaxed. None of the Akatsuki knew how their current "friends" would react after seeing such a horrific display and there was no way in hell they would take any chances.

Roy took the first step forward, "What was all that?" Fury and also a tinge of fear reflected in his eyes, "What the hell are all of you?!"

Konan scanned the rooms, keeping an arm to support the exhausted Uchiha next to her, "May we talk in private? I want my men to get their rest-"

"No!" Roy shouted, "We are talking here…" He holds up the lighter that the Akatsuki had seen him use on Lust, "right here… right now. How can I trust that you won't lie to my face after seeing that?! I can't even trust my own eyes to believe what I just saw!"

Konan hears Deidara mutter under his breath, "He himself was just burning the monster alive but calls us out when we do the same, un?" It was a little ridiculous from the shinobi's perspective, what they were doing was no different besides the colors of the flames… and a lack of alchemy… and the chakra strings to bound everyone still… and the fact that Lust had no moment of peace- okay, Mustang was totally justified in being paranoid.

Neither option seemed pleasant in Konan's mind. On one hand, telling Mustang the truth meant the Akatsuki no longer had to pretend around him or his men and move freely. But on the off-chance a Homunculus was listening in, they'll learn about chakra and an even bigger target would be pointed at the shinobi.

On the other hand… they risked becoming Mustang's enemy and a primary target for his fire.

"Miss. Konan…" Al spoke in a shaken voice, "Please be honest with the Colonel. My brother and I can vouch for you."

Konan allowed her expression to soften only for a moment, "Thank you Alphonse, but you and your brother need to stay out of this for your own good. We adults can handle ourselves." It was touching that the boy had so much faith in them despite the fact that it was obvious they have not been the most honest of people. Granted, they've been more honest with the boys than the majority of the military.

"Some of you are just children yourself…" Riza muttered, eyeing Sasori and Deidara with concern. The blond one was promptly shoved behind the shorter redhead, "How are you able to speak as adults in that case?"

"You are considered an adult in our profession the moment you get a headband." Konan carefully made Itachi stand on his own, "You'll have permission to rest in a bit. Bare with this." She walked towards Roy, watching as the muscles in his arm bugle with tension. Truly he was a man of war, his body speaks for itself, "As someone who too faced the harsh realities of war, I do not blame your paranoia."

Mustang bristled with defensiveness, "You weren't there in the Ishvalan war. You do not know what it's like on the battlefield."

"My parents were killed in front of me, only my father was a shinobi and tried to defend his home. This lead to Konohagakure shinobi to slaughter him, and then my mother when she tried to flee with me, I was only spared because I was a child. My best friends and I created a gang, fighting in the war for our own causes. The Akatsuki," Konan slowly motions to her men, "is the end product."

The foreign words bounced off Roy's ears, "There's no place called Konohaga-…" He jolts as his tongue twisted, "-gakure."

"Because we came from another world."

"Impossible, there's no such thing!" Riza shouted, unable to do much in this situation as she ran out of bullets. Hands twitching with the urge to grab a gun and aim.

"Deidara, if you would." Deidara walked to Konan and showed off his palms again, "A demonstration as well. But don't set it off."

"Ruining the fun in my art, un." Deidara pouts but obeys, everything slowly made more sense to Alphonse as he watched Deidara's hands eat the clay and spit out an owl. One hand sign later it was as big as a car, and one flap of its powerful wings it was in the air.

"We do not use alchemy, instead we harness a form of energy called chakra. No one here in this world can use chakra like us, they may harness a unique energy within them…" Konan thought back to the Xing prince and his bodyguards, "but that is it. We came here only for the purpose of studying alchemy, but as you can plainly see this did not go as plan."

Mustang's lip and eyebrow twitched, trying to remain blank but also trying to not express frustration, "And joining the military?"

"Was only so we could remain here without the risk of imprisonment. I swear to you on my parent's grave that we did not come here to harm the innocent."

The Flame Alchemist's arm slowly lowered, this all made sense to him when putting the pieces together. This explains their unique abilities, secretive nature, hell it explains why none of them have Xing sounding names, 'Maybe… she's telling the truth- wait…' The puzzle was incomplete, "You didn't tell me what you were."

Konan became emotionless, "What do you mean exactly?"

"Your gang… a supposed immortal, a boy with odd automail that can control bodies," He noticed Sasori suddenly became agitated, "another boy that can create animals that break all forms of alchemy… and a woman who can turn into paper claiming that there are more of you… what the hell… is the Akatsuki?"

"Colonel, they're mercenaries…" Alphonse spoke softly, shrouds of doubt began to loom over him. What were his new friends actually?

"He is correct, Mustang. We, as the Akatsuki, are mercenaries for hire. What we do is depending on who pays us."

Mustang clenched his teeth, "So are you saying you're criminals? Did you have to steal? Murder? Destroy lives?"

"You murdered children for the sake of your country. I can see all the blood that rests on your own palms and other State Alchemists around you." With Konan's last jab it was as if the air was sucked out of the room, "I'll see you at work after you've recovered."

The Akatsuki funneled out of the room without making a sound. Roy's arm shook, something was begging him to flick the lighter on… but he just couldn't. They were the only ones that know who killed Hughes, and one of the few people he could afford to use as true bait for these Homunculi.

No one saw the shinobi leave the building nor were they seen during the trek to their house. Itachi instantly retired to his room while the rest relaxed in the living room with cups of tea for everyone but Sasori. Everyone sat in mute silence, even Hidan was staring into his cup intensely.

"...Are we going to ignore the bijuu in the room, un?" Deidara eyed his teammates, taking a sip of the piping hot, semi-familiar liquid. It was a different form of leaf than what he and the others were used to but it was better than nothing.

Konan sat her cup down on the coffee table, "Who opposes my decision to tell Mustang?" No one answered, "Really? No one is going to question me?"

"Mustang held us at flame point and you kept our pasts secret…" Sasori murmured, eyes blank with thought, "That was the best case scenario… not to mention that it keeps that brat in check."

"Sure, but now firefuck is going to be tracking all of our fucking moves from now on. How are we supposed to doing anything with him breathing over us and shit?"

Konan rubbed her forehead, she's been doing that a lot lately, "I will take care of Mustang, your jobs is to keep researching alchemy and any other information we can use to our advantage… Deidara, Sasori." The two made slight sounds to indicate to Konan that they were listening, "From now on, where ever Edward and Alphonse go, you two go. I will have Itachi and Hidan quit their jobs when it is time for the Akatsuki to move as one unit again."

"If we encounter any Homunculus?" Sasori questioned, leaning forward in a way that would harm the posture of any normal person.

"... Do not let the boys get hurt." The lights in the house turned dark when lightning struck, "A storm… well, I suggest we all retire for the night." Konan stood up, cleaning up after herself and then retreating to her room.

With a soft click, the door was locked. A mere lock wasn't meant to keep her men out. It was to discourage any and all intruders. If the idiots in this world wish to try and sneak in… well… if they manage to survive her men, they won't last a second with her.

 _A few days later_

Ed was all but bouncing in his seat while he told Konan what he had just told Alphonse and Winry a few hours previous, "We… we didn't bring our mom back! We didn't hurt her, and there may be a chance to bring Al back from the Gate since he technically didn't die!" Hope and relief were reflected in his golden eyes.

"That's wonderful news, Ed…" Konan eyed the Akatsuki while they watched with bored disinterest. She couldn't blame them though since their own jutsu could easily bring someone back with no harm to the caster, "So I'm guessing you're going to focus on finding a way to access this… gate?"

"Yeah," Ed nodded vigorously, "there has to be a way to get Al's body back."

"... Maybe getting my body back would be a bad idea…" Everyone snaps their head over to look at the tall suit of armor, "I mean… what if my body is rotting?"

Out of everyone, it was Hidan who let the goose out of his throat, "Huh?" Was this kid stupid? His body is sitting in some supernatural place of existence and instead of worrying about other things, he's scared about a rotting body?

"I-I mean I haven't eaten in a couple of years, or bathed or anything like that! What if I get my body back and I look like a zombie?!"

The Akatsuki didn't know what amused them more, Al's irrational fears of a degrading body or the fact that the two on the couch were actually thinking about it now. Winry was whipping her head around the room, looking at Al, then Ed then back to Al then to the Akatsuki. For a moment, Konan and Itachi feared she would get whiplash from the movements.

Ed crossed his arms, "I actually thought about that for a while… there is a chance… no, I'm certain of this; our bodies are connected, and Al's body is siphoning nutrients and energy from me."

A twitchy, nervous smile formed on Winry's face, eyes full of hope, "Is that even possible though?" Behind her, Al's eyes dimmed as his mind traveled back to all the times his brother either slept or ate a concerning amount of food. It definitely made sense to the younger Elric brother.

"Something similar exists in our world…" Konan brought the children's attention to her, "While I understand that creatures of the unknown are seemingly ignored by alchemist-"

"At this rate, I'm willing to believe anything exists…" Ed interrupts with an annoyed mumble, "What's next…? Seven-headed monkeys?"

"Five tails actually. The seven tails is in the form of a beetle." Ed had to do a double-take to make sure that, yes, Konan was indeed serious, "In our world, there are nine tailed-beasts, all of them sealed within the bodies of nine humans. According to our information, the beasts' lives are connected to their hosts… it is possible you are linked to your brother in a less extreme sense, Ed."

"Wow…" Ed slumped back on the couch, dazed, letting his mind wonder to try and imagine these supposed beasts, "What do they look like?"

Konan didn't miss a beat, "We don't know, only the village leaders that each host is from know what the beasts look like. We only know about them through scrolls and what others claim they look like. They're not ones to challenge due to their extreme strength and immeasurable levels of chakra. They are living embodiments of the energy we shinobi hold." Of course, the lies pile more and more every time these boys ask her about their world, but it's so easy to keep the darkness of the Akatsuki away from them. No one is here to claim otherwise… and they will all return home soon enough.

"I'd really like to see what your world is like, Miss. Konan…" Al mused to himself out loud, "It sounds like there would be so much to learn by going there..."

Sasori let out a half-chuckle, "One might say you'd need immortality to learn all its knowledge." The Elric brothers and Winry sat there completely lost when Deidara and Hidan snickered, rather vocally about something Sasori must have meant. On closer inspection, even Itachi and Konan were smirking. How was immortality a joke?

At this point, they've given up on understanding their humor.

The groups parted ways with Ed heading out to talk to Mustang while the Akatsuki began to return to their home. Konan was naturally situated in the middle of the group, a figurative barrier surrounding her as news already reached her ears about Scar's return to Central. Any normal person would feel vulnerable in the twilight, but this was relaxing to the shinobi. Like a walk in the park.

"I visited the hospital not long before Ed returned to Central…" Itachi spoke softly, only just enough for his comrades to hear him, "While Mustang is expected to make a full recovery after some rest… his Second Lieutenant wasn't as lucky."

"The fucker paralyzed or something?" Hidan let out a laugh until Itachi went silent, "Shit, I wasn't being literal there!"

"... Hn." The Uchiha focused on random spots of the street, returning to his quiet demeanor. If Havoc was in their world, he may have had a chance at recovery especially if he lived in Konoha. But in a world where their medicine was just that… medicine… there was no hope of that man being able to walk again, 'Perhaps it is this world's way of knocking Mustang down a peg-... someone's here.'

A sudden gust of wind alerted Konan that Itachi had flickered away from the group and into an alleyway. An annoyed yell emanated from a female and Itachi returned, holding something small, pink and squirming in one hand and the other hand was a… panda?

"They have fucking pandas here too?!" Hidan gawked at the tiny bear trying to be vicious and powerful even though it was being scruffed, "It's so fucking puny!"

The pink bundle -now realized to be a young girl- gasped and thrashed more, "Take back what you said about Xiao-Mei!"

'Obviously from Xing… must be one of Ling's many half-siblings…' Konan tilted her head, observing the small girl, "Forgive Hidan, he speaks his mind at times. Why were you in an alleyway?"

The girl froze up, "N-no reason! Now let us go before I have to use force!"

Konan let out a sigh, "Itachi, let her go. There's nothing to gain by questioning her and too public with too many witnesses if we take her home with us." Stiffly, the Uchiha dropped the panda and the girl, who both got into fighting stances. The girl pulled out what looks like mini-kunai and grasped them between her fingers, one tiny foot sticking out like a painter's brush, "You're free to leave, as a State Alchemist I need to return home."

The girl gasped, "You're a State Alchemist?!" Her stance began to falter when a sudden wave of energy seeped out of the five people in front of her, they were in a whole other league when it came to chi!

"Indeed, the Blue Rose Alchemist was the title presented to me by the Fuhrer… now, leave before I change my mind." Konan watched as the girl met eyes with her panda. They then exchanged nods and leapt to the building with incredible acrobatics. The two vanished within the darkness and it took a solid minute before she could no longer sense the girl, "What an interesting child. Not many genins have that level of flexibility and motion control."

Sasori gave a rare moment to scrunch up his eyebrows, "You think she's connected to Scar? She did show up the same time as him."

The kunoichi resumed her walking, "It's possible. Knowing Edward he'll do whatever he can to lure out Scar into battle… to lure out a Homunculus…" She crossed her arms, spotting their house in the distance, "Sasori and Deidara… the Elric brothers are to never leave your sights. Hidan and Itachi will come with me to look for any Homunculus."

A growl escaped Deidara's lips, "If you find the transforming one… they're mine, un."

"PAH!" Hidan barked out a laugh, "Fuck you blondie! I see that fucker, I'm going to be the one to kill him! You can have the fat one!"

"No way! That would kill the artistic nature of my jutsu, he'll absorb all of my explosions and ruin the beauty of it all, un! You take the fat one!"

"He wouldn't even feel the pain if I stab him! Have you seen how much blubber is on that shithead?!"

"I've felt it, remember? The guy SAT ON ME!"

"Sucks to be you!"

'I'm surrounded by children…' Sasori tried not to groan as he watched his partner and the zealot pretty much get inflated heads to yap at each other like tiny dogs who think they're giants. Though it did beg the question how the Homunculi would react if they knew the Akatsuki were literally taking claim to who dies to who.

"... I call Bradley…"

EVERYONE basically tripped over their feet when Itachi spoke. Was Itachi, the infamous Itachi Uchiha, calling dibs on a Homunculus?! Everyone swerved their heads -Sasori quite literally- to look at the raven-haired boy who quickly looked away from the multiple pairs of eyes staring him down. Oh, so now that everyone began to pay attention he tries to brush it off.

"... Fine then, I call Pride." If everyone was going to claim a Homunculus then might as well join them. Sasori kept his face neutral, "I take pride in my art… I wonder how it would fair against a literal embodiment of that sin. What poisons he could handle."

Konan didn't join in the conversation, merely opening the door to the house and retreating to her bedroom for the night. Her men could discuss this into the wee hours of the morning just as long as it didn't affect their performance.

 _The next day_

Four Akatsuki members remained hidden on buildings, occasionally moving as the Elric brothers moved around the city. No matter how many times they saw it, it always amazed the shinobi how quickly things could be repaired with alchemy. There was no need for a kekkei genkai, nor the usage of chakra, just the basic principles of science.

Their fifth and final member, Itachi, appeared behind them all. Deidara was the first to acknowledge his presence, "Did you find them, un?"

The Uchiha nodded, "It took some time, but I was successful… they were hidden rather well."

"Good, I was starting to feel like Danna with how impatient I was getting, it's not a fun feeling… No offense Danna."

Sasori rolled his eyes, keeping his attention focused on Ed while he repaired a woman's vase, "Brats…"

A tic mark formed on Hidan's forehead which was expanded with his comically large head, "Would you fuckers stop acting like this is a dire situation?! It's just pastries!"

Deidara snorted, digging through the box that was resting innocently on Itachi's hand and grabbed a chocolate pastry, "Don't knock them till you try them, Hidan. These things are more addicting than dango or mochi, un!" With that being said, the blonde took a massive bite from the delicious treat.

Itachi wasn't too impressed by the comment, "That's debatable…" The jab still wasn't enough to stop him from enjoying a strawberry sweet.

Hidan snatched one of the pastries, most likely vanilla based on the white frosting and wolfed it down, "What's so good about... Well…" He stared at his hand, eyes slowly widening, "Jashin be damned… this world knows how to handle sugar."

Konan ignored the temptation to try the sweets, knowing that with their luck, the Elric brother's would be attacked the moment she looked away. Just like the thought passing by, so did the familiar kill intent that she felt all those months ago, "He's here..." She paused, another familiar kill intent ranged even louder than Scar's, two of them to be exact, "Bradley and another Homunculus just arrived. The Homunculus is by that Xing prince Itachi and Deidara informed us about."

"Oh!" Deidara quickly licked off the chocolate from each of his fingers then shoved his hands in his clay pouch, creating a hawk. Hopping on, Sasori joined him, "We'll watch the brothers from above, have fun, un!"

The mixture of the Xing people's energy and the kill intent of the Homunculus was enough to make any normal shinobi nauseated, even Konan was finding it difficult to focus, "Itachi, find Mustang to learn what their plans are for the Homunculus… Hidan… you're with me."

Hidan howled in joy, readying his scythe for a fight, "Let's do this!"

Crouching down, the three leapt away from the building just in time for the immortal one to see Gluttony be kicked in the face by Lan Fan, and his fat body landing into a roof.

"Hiiiii!" Ling called out to the confused Homunculus, "Pretty interesting body you've got there… I wonder how many people are in you."

Gluttony barely had any time to open his mouth when a three-bladed scythe barreled into the side of his skull, causing an almost childish scream to escape him, "Owwwwww! Why is everyone hurting me?!" He frowned, seeing a semi-familiar albino smirking at him from the bottom of the building, "So many people in my way… guess I'll have to eat all of you!"

"Try me, bitch, I'll give you indigestion!" Hidan gave a violent tug of his arm, causing the scythe to fly back to him, insanity glistening in his eyes, "Time for the ritual to begin!" But just when he was about to lap up the crimson liquid that sparked on his scythe, a blade suddenly thrust forward and sliced his arm, causing his own blood to be mixed with Gluttony's.

"Now, we can't have you Akatsuki getting mixed in this any longer. I'll have to get rid of all of you." There stood Bradley, sword drawn and pointing at Hidan, "I wonder how many times I'll need to cut you down in order to kill you…"

Hidan was practically vibrating with excitement, "As long as I have Lord Jashin no one can kill me, I wish someone could kill me! Death is the ultimate pain that I will never get to experience!" Despite the fact that he should in no way be able to move that arm, Hidan swung madly at Bradley, who dodged as if this was a simple ballroom dance, "Fuck what the Uchiha said, I'm gonna kill all of you bastards!"

"Is that so? But how can you…" Bradley suddenly appeared behind Hidan, "When you're dead?"

The zealot blinked dumbly a few times, "What…?" Blood suddenly poured from Hidan's neck in a perfect ring, his body becoming limp and collapsed to the ground, his head rolling off several feet.

"Immortal… heh, what a funny claim. Cannot even regrow your head when chopped off…" Bradley focused his attention on the two Xing people, "Now… to deal with you two." Pushing his feet against the ground, Bradley bolted up the ladder to the tubing Lan Fan stood, not once was he aware that a pair of pink eyes followed his every move, nor did he hear the rustling of paper slowly following behind him.

* * *

 **Side story #3: The first visit**

"See you tomorrow Mr. Uchiha~!"

"Naturally." Itachi gives a slight bow to the cooing ladies at his last table for the day. They were regulars, specifically, they were the first people he ever served before getting this job. Retreating to the employee's room, he neatly folded and put away his apron and collected his tips. Itachi had just slipped on his coat when an arm draped over his shoulder.

His coworker Frank leaned on him with a dopey grin, "Heeeey, Ucheehah!" Why is it so hard to pronounce his name? "You wanna come drinking with us tonight? It'd be fun, I heard lots of cute girls will be there too."

The Uchiha forced a polite smile, "I'll pass, I'm underage anyway and I have no desire for hooking up." Pinching the thin layer of skin on the back of Frank's hand, Itachi removed the arm from his person, "I have to be somewhere."

The Uchiha made his brisk escape out of the restaurant unseen by others and focused on traveling in the shadows. Despite the risks of what may be lurking in these shadows, it was better than being in broad daylight in Central without his cloak on. After five minutes of running, he finally reached his main destination: the hospital.

The place had a disturbing amount of hustle and bustle for a hospital. With the increases in attacks from people like Scar or just alchemy battles in general, more people were seeing medical attention.

Itachi reached the reception desk, "Excuse me…" He waited for the nurse at the desk to look over at him. At first, her face screamed disinterest, but it soon lit up at the sight of his face and he had to wait for even more for her blushing to settle down, "Where can I find Colonel Mustang's room?"

"M-Mustang? O-oh…" The nurse faltered when she had to remind herself that the cute guy in front of her was visiting another patient, "Room 127, down the hallway on your right."

Itachi nodded his thanks and headed for the room, ignoring the audible sigh from the nurse. The longer he walked down the hallway the more disturbing the building became for him. There was a lack of… well… organization in general. It was just as bad when Deidara was left here, nosy nurses and doctors that seemed to only care about those with connections to the military. They're professionals of course, but the Uchiha longed for medical shinobi who could fix a broken rib within a minute of treatment.

Reaching the door, Riza was posted outside. She looked at him nervously, "Um… Mr. Uchiha…"

Out of instinct, Itachi bowed to the woman, "I understand that the Colonel has mixed feelings about myself and my comrades, but I wished to speak with him."

Riza took in a breath, letting herself return to her professional form, "Very well, I'll tell him that you are here…" She opened the hospital door and began to walk in, "Colonel…"

The door shut and Itachi heard hushed talking, which quickly escalated to the sound of Mustang yelling "Get that bastard in here!". Riza reopened the door, "He'll see you."

Itachi smoothly walked into the room and sees a rather pitiful sight. Roy laid in his hospital bed, completely banged up and his Second Lieutenant laying in a bed nearby, not entirely focusing on much besides his own lap. The Uchiha gave Roy a respectful bow then sit down in a nearby chair, "With your ranking, I would have thought you would be in your own room, Colonel."

It was if something petrified Roy on the spot before a massive smirk plastered on his face, "Even the kid understands my desire for my own room!" He chuckled, wincing at the pain in his side, seemingly reminding him of who was in the room, "Why are you here?"

"I wanted us to talk, it's obvious that you see us as a threat or people to not be trusted and since I was the one to kill that creature, I wished to take responsibility for what happened."

"Such a cookie-cutter response… Were you some rich guy's kid before joining your gang?" Of course, that was meant to be a joke, but when Mustang looked back at Itachi he… didn't like what he was seeing, "Wait, I said the wrong thing, didn't I?"

Itachi was blank, more so than what the Colonel was used to seeing but the expression was similar to many of his war buddies. If Roy could he would be physically retreating right now just to avoid seeing the pain in those black eyes. If anything else, it left him wondering just exactly why people as young as Deidara would join a group of supposed criminals… maybe for reasons like the Elric brothers.

"Colonel, I am here to discuss your hostility towards us back in that basement, not about my parentage. Maybe one day I will tell you more about myself," Maybe never, "but not today."

Roy gave in, "Alright, alright." He sighed, thinking back to that night, "... I honestly shouldn't have acted like that, I was doing the exact same thing. I was… surprised," He would be damned if he admitted the boy terrifies him, "by the flames and didn't know how to react to it all… not to mention Sasori can control bodies… how does he do that by the way?"

"The same way a puppet master controls a marionette, with strings. His are made of chakra, all of our technique uses chakra… some are more… greedy than others…"

"More greedy than…" It hit Roy like a truck, something was always off about Itachi but he could never put his finger on it. It was never because of how quiet the boy was or how his eyes occasionally flash red, but it was because of his eyes. Itachi is almost always squinting, subtly, but it was noticeable when you focus on the sizes of the Akatsuki's eyes, "Those black flames hurt your eyes."

"Hn… I have no intention of using Amaterasu on anything unless it's needed. That night was purely to send a message… everyone else wants to handle the Homunculi their own way." Itachi's eyes shifted around the room, scanning for anything off, like an unusual bird on a tree or a bug on the wall but found nothing, "I'm sure you've obtained more questions than answers."

"Of course I have questions, damnit!" Roy flinched when he felt pain skyrocket through his body, he really needed to learn to yell why being still, "I'm not going to get any information out of you anytime soon, am I?"

"Not for free, no. We can talk again when you are well enough to yell without flinching." Itachi got to his feet, "Maybe someday we can talk without worry of unwanted ears. Also, I heard Edward will be back in Central soon, so expect a visit from him." Leaving the room Itachi lingered in the hospital longer. Memorizing each flaw the staff had every pattern in their daily routine. There were no Homunculus, but if the chances of any of the Akatsuki being hospitalized are as high as they were months ago, he'd be more comfortable memorizing the staff's face.

Activating his sharingan, Itachi slipped on some sunglasses to hide his eyes. This backfired a few times as some staff spotting him and mistook him for a blind man, "Sir, you should remain in your room! Where is your walking stick?"

"I'm not blind…" Well, he did have to applaud these nurses for actually being concerned, "I can see you three just fine."

Since only one of the employees had spoken, that was enough to prove to the staff that Itachi could indeed see, parting way for him to walk by. After about 10 feet or so away, Itachi heard one of them speak, "Has Havoc's mother come by?"

The only male nurse nodded, "Yeah, with a military official. I feel bad for her, her son… paralyzed from the waist down…"

"Shhhh!" One of the female nurses shushed her coworker, "Nobody's supposed to hear about that yet!"

A sudden increase in crows outside startled the three nurses. When they turned around to for anyone listening in, they noticed that the dark haired male was gone… but they didn't hear a door open and this hallway lingers for a while. Out of panic, they noticed an opened window and all three looked out to see the man calmly walking on the grass. Maybe taking 16-hour shifts wasn't the best idea after all...

* * *

 **Don't ask why I decided to make the Akatsuki slowly become addicted to pastries… it amuses me. Let the author be amused.**

 **Next chapter will definitely have more stuff in it, particularly the events with Scar and a few things after that. With the Akatsuki splitting up again I'm going to try and do more swapping of POVs for my sanity.**

 **As always, reviews are loved and I will see you all in the next update.**

 **Bye!**


	15. Gluttony's Capture

**So many POVs… I'm experimenting a little bit in using transitional words to swap between the Akatsuki and see if it flows a bit better than what I usually write. So far I'm liking it. I did this to minimize the amount of unneeded anime stuff that none of the Akatsuki are involved in as that just feels like both filler for the fic and straight up copying which I want to avoid as much as possible.**

 **Thank you guys for the fave, follows and reviews!**

 **serus black antihumannature: Itachi doesn't know any medical ninjutsu nor would he have the skill to heal a severed spinal cord. That's at most a Tsunade-level technique but even that's pushing it.**

 **BloodPokemon101: Well he is half human and we humans are arrogant as hell. This is one of the many downfalls for the Homunculus, their arrogance gets the better of them.**

 **princessbinas: You have no idea how much I wanted to creatively cuss but umm… according to the official wiki page for the list of english cuss words… most of those would get this fic an M rating or just flat out removed entirely. Lot of racial and homophobic slurs and I ain't even gonna touch that territory. So I angry ranted instead. XD**

 **Greer123: Everybody got beef with Bradley now, still working on who I want to use to kill him since his fight with Scar was so satisfying but at the same time… it's the Akatsuki, they're gonna want a part of the action.**

 **Guest: Perhaps, I haven't decided yet nor did I decide how.**

 **Warning: Angry angry cussy Hidan, violence, blood, gore, Gluttony gets insulted a few times, the usual stuff.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own FMAB or Naruto.**

* * *

Unphased after decapitating the albino Akatsuki, Bradley rushed towards Lan Fan. With a powerful swing, he sliced her mask clean off while also cutting her in the process. Ling yelled for her as her body landed on the ground harshly, her kunai bouncing away. With a final clink, the kunai laid still on the ground and at the same time, Bradley's sword was sliced in two.

"Impressive slice." Bradley uncaringly examined his broken sword, "You risked an injury just to disarm me. I must praise you for that." It was probably the highest form of honor this woman would ever receive anyway, considering she was going to die now.

Gluttony grinned, "Can I eat her?"

Well, it saves having unnecessary blood to touch his hands, "Make it qu-" But Bradley stopped. A noise finally entered his ears; paper scattering in the wind. He twisted his neck up to look for the noise and he saw such an odd sight, even for a Homunculus.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me!" There was Hidan's head, floating on top some paper with his body limply laying on its own stack nearby, "I was going to fight you one-on-one and you dickless cowards decide to cut my fucking head off?! Do you realizing how much this fucking hurts?! Of course, you don't because you shitheads can just regrow your fucking craniums like it's a patch of potatoes! And of course that bastard Kakuzu decided that one time to walk away, so now one of those other bitches have to fix me! Have you ever seen any of those fuckers sew?! I'll give you some advice… THEY ALL FUCKING SUCK BALLS AT IT!"

Everyone was frozen on the spot while the disembodied head was screaming obscenities at the top of his... lungs? Bradley couldn't figure out how Hidan was functioning, not even a Homunculus' head can continue talking if it's been lobbed off and yet this man was yelling like he was fine… in pain… but fine.

Ling took this opportunity to take Lan Fan and run. He wasn't sure if this was a part of the plan, and he felt an endless desire to ask the albino how he is immortal… but Lan Fan was hurt, she needed medical attention. He was not going to sacrifice her for the chance of an unsatisfactory answer… also, Hidan really looks like he's not interested in talking.

However, the prince only got about 20 feet when he felt Gluttony return his chase, Bradley also regain focus on his main goal after realizing Hidan wouldn't be able to attack him. He'd pardon the existence of paper that obviously belongs to a certain woman only because Father still wishes to meet a few of the Akatsuki alive. Once he's satisfied Bradley will see no reason in keeping foreign threats alive… at least that's what the papers will read when he's done.

Hidan scowled as he watched the Homunculi leave, "Grrr… hey bitch! Why did you let them run off?!" If he could he would be struggling right now, but of course his body doesn't respond without his head! Nooooo, that makes total sense, just like how he can talk without lungs!

More paper flew around Hidan and they slowly took on the form of the upper half of Konan, "Silence, Hidan. We'll get your head reattached as soon as we can, you just need to be quiet and cooperative." Despite being enraged right now, Hidan wisely picked this rare moment to listen and be quiet, letting paper surround him and his body to keep from excessively bleeding, "I'll leave just enough of you exposed so you can breathe."

"Yeah yeah, just get my head and body reattached as soon as you- mmmfh, mfph fu miffff!" Konan at that moment decided it was better for Hidan's nose to be exposed and not his mouth if the muffled cursing indicated anything.

Overhead was a familiar white hawk looming almost 50 feet into the air. Without so much as blinking, she flings Hidan's head and body at it, which were then promptly swallowed by the bird for safe cargo hold. He can be fixed later, right now Konan needed to keep tabs on Bradley and ensure there are fewer casualties than expected.

On the hawk in the air, Deidara was watching everything down below with his scope with Sasori by his side. The puppet master was sitting at the lower back of the bird, crossed legged and impatiently tapping his finger against his knee, "Find anything of interest brat?"

"Naturally, the brothers have been fighting against Scar for the last few minutes, un." His amusement spiked when a metal cable shot out and wrapped around his right arm, "Is something wrong Sasori?" Moments like these are when it's best to drop the formalities.

"You didn't bother to tell me and instead kept me waiting?" Ohhh… he's mad.

Deidara wisely remained still as Sasori's stomach cable is like all of his other weapons, completely covered in poison, "You didn't ask, I thought you knew since they're making a lot of noise down there, un." A small explosion happened down below, "That wasn't me."

"I'm not blind brat, I know it wasn't you." Sasori muttered, pushing himself up and going to Deidara and removing the cable from his arm. Looking down it didn't take much for him to witness Scar barely miss Ed's face with his unusual alchemic attack, "There has got to be something up with his alchemy, it doesn't work according to how most books describe alchemy..."

Deidara rolled his eyes, "Not everything is by the books nor do these people seem open to actually document their science. I doubt Orochimaru would appreciate this world, un."

Now Sasori had to roll his eyes and present his younger partner a smirk, "If anything he would actively try to kill everyone just to get their information."

Deidara's shoulders shook with laughter and he held back his pride to let out a chuckle, but when he opened his eyes again he saw someone approaching the brothers and Scar. It was Winry, "Wha-? Who the hell brought Winry here?! I'm updating Itachi, un." Creating a small dove, he sent it off to wherever Itachi was, it just needed to find the Uchiha's signature.

Sasori returned his attention to the scene before him. Thanks to the wind he couldn't make out what was being said by any of them, but he didn't need to when Winry pointed a gun at Scar, "Seems we have someone wanting revenge…"

Deidara snapped his head down and groaned, "Man, I thought that was just an Uchiha thing…" He hummed to himself, "On the other hand-... nahhh, she's not going to shoot, Danna."

"What makes you so certain?"

"Itachi and I were there when she helped deliver a baby, she's not fit for killing, un." He frowned when Winry's hands began to shake, "She's going to crack any moment now."

Sasori nodded, "Many of these people could not survive as a shinobi." And of course, Winry fell to her knees. The duo watched as Scar made a break for it with Al hot on his heels, Ed staying behind. He took off his coat to cover Winry, letting her cry on his shoulder while he talked to the officers, also giving them the gun back, "Let's follow Scar."

"You sure, Danna?"

"Don't argue with me. Edward is fine."

"Fine fine, whatever you say, un."

While the artist duo followed Scar, Deidara's clay dove flew skillfully around the next few blocks -no doubt due to its creator's massive ego- until it caught a wave of familiar fire chakra. Reaching the unsuspected building, it landed on the windowsill where it was ignored by the three occupants.

"This is sector 12!" Mustang was pulling on one side of his cheek as he faked what seemed to be the 10th voice to a radio, "We just received word that Scar was spotted, send immediate backup-" He gasped suddenly, "Wha-wha what are you doing here! No! Get away! AHHHH!" He cut the line and burst into laughter with a whoop. He was definitely having way too much fun with this.

Riza was not shy about letting her disapproval of her superiors immaturity but the Uchiha in the room remained quiet, focused on the door in case they received uninvited guests. As expected the dove did not go unnoticed for long and Itachi made graceful strides to avoid all of the wires to reach the window.

Riza arched her neck to watch Itachi pick up the bird and examine it, "What's up with the bird?" She gave Mustang a look when his next voice made him sound like a stuffed-nose nerd from her 8th-grade science class.

"It's from Deidara… strange that he would pick out such a feminine bird to send a message…" Then it hit Itachi, "Winry. I need to go," He paused when a piece paper also flew in through the window, on it was written in a language Riza could not read, "... the Homunculus are tailing Ling, he should have them captured soon."

Hearing this, Roy also heard on the radio a report of the military taking Winry into custody, "Fullmetal's friend will be fine, but we need to send back up. Lieutenant, you know where to go, the house outside of town. Don't be followed."

"On it." Riza slipped on some glasses and ditched her uniform for a white jacket, "And Colonel, don't go out into the front lines!" She earned a wince from Roy at her command but nonetheless he planned on listening to her. She ran outside, letting her hair down and slipping into the car, seemingly thinking this disguise would work.

To Itachi she really didn't look much different but… he's honestly questioning the intelligence of the common military personnel. He followed her to the car and got in the passenger seat, "I'll go with you."

Riza scoffed, "Everyone knows your face, you'll put this whole operation in jeopardy-" A loud poof sound happened next to her and her vision was blocked by clouds, "What was that Itachi?!" She turned her head to look at the teen only to be left sitting there in shock.

Itachi had used his transformation jutsu to transform into a boy with dark -almost black- blue hair that spiked back, with a casual dark blue button-up and black pants with the highest level of brooding plastered on his face. To Riza, this just looked like some random kid but to Itachi it was so much more, 'I'm grateful Sasuke was born with more of our mother's look compared to me...'

Riza quickly slammed on the gas in hopes of finding where everyone was. Itachi released the dove that was still in his hands and allowed it to fly, "Follow the bird."

"On it!"

Back with the artist duo, they watched as Ed finally caught up with the fight between Scar and Al. Deidara was itching for a fight, but they had to remain out of the fight until they deemed either the brothers were in legitimate danger or if a Homunculus showed up.

"I've found you, Ishvalan!" With a harsh slam to the ground, Gluttony grinning menacingly at Scar, tongue hanging out to let his Ouroboros tattoo be displayed for all to see. Well… speak of the devil and it shall arrive like in the form of… a blob with bones.

Like an uncoiling spring, Deidara sprang off his bird to slam full force into Gluttony, earning him a big crater in the ground. Sasori, of course, remained on the bird and simply kept a hand on his Sandaime Kazekage scroll. It's been months since he has been able to use his puppets in action, and if the brothers remain safe the entire time… well, there was nothing stopping him from preventing his partner from being hurt. After all, it's either the brat or Tobi.

Gluttony emerged from the dust cloud confused from the impact but refocused on Scar. Scar reacted quickly to the Homunculus' pounce by slamming the fat creature into the ground and using his alchemy to disrupt its body. But minus spewing out blood, this seemed to do little to phase Gluttony, if anything it made him more excited to eat Scar!

Deidara leapt to stand between the fight and the brothers, hands in his clay pouch like usual, "Well, this makes our job easier… now if only I can show off my art, un…"

Al and Ed looked at each other with a nod. Running forward when Scar threw Gluttony off of him, the brothers drop kicked the Homunculus in the face, seemingly creating a temporary alliance between the Ishvalan and the boys.

Poor Deidara, he seemingly is never going to be able to get the opportunity to use his art when out from a sewage cover came a shirtless Ling, sword in his mouth and a round object in his hand. It took all of the blond's will to not just throw a C1 in the fray and see if anyone dies from it!

"It's Ling!" Ed shouted in shock.

'Thanks for the obvious short-stuff…' Deidara raised an eyebrow when Ling landed on Gluttony, shoving the object down his throat and jumping away, "What is that-"

"Move it!" Ling shouted at the others just in time for Gluttony to literally explode from the inside. His entire upper half ruptured into a mess of blood and flesh, his tongue landing by Ed and the destroyed body part disintegrated into an ash-like substance before fading away, "We need to move quickly!"

Gluttony's body was regenerating at a fast pace, bones twisted into shape while muscle and skin lapped around the structures to produce its owner back to its original shape. He was well on getting to repairing his head when a clay frog latched itself onto the unfinished mess and being engulfed in the repair job, startling everyone with an actual functioning mind. It was a new animal but the brothers knew those soulless eyes anywhere after months of knowing these shinobi.

"This is for sitting on me you fat asshole, katsu!" Once again Gluttony was reduced to only the lower half of his body as a larger explosion rang out in the area, "Now that is true art! A vision for all to see-"

"Yeah we get it, you like to make things explode! Enough bragging!" Ling shouted at Deidara out of stress, "Ed, I need a strong cable and fast!"

"It's not bragging, it's telling the truth…" Deidara crossed his arms, mumbling to himself as he watched Ed use the train tracks to make a metallic cable and Ling quickly bound Gluttony while he regenerated, "Hey Ed, mind making a little bit more cable? But a lot thinner, un?"

Ed jumped a little, eyes looking around for another Homunculus. When he saw none, he tilted his head at Deidara, "Um… sure, why?" He made the cable anyway, giving the material to the older teen.

"Oh, Hidan got his head chopped off and we need to sew it back on, best to use something strong until he recovers, un."

Ed paled, "He what?!" The teen had to leap forward when a car came screeching forward, the driver shooting at Scar to wound him and make him back up. In the car was Riza and a boy that he's never seen before, "Eh? Lieute-"

Riza put a finger to her lips and shushed him, Ling wasted no time in plopping Gluttony onto the back of the car and sitting next to the creature as the car drove off. Soon there were military men running over to them to try and be backup for the Fullmetal Alchemist as Scar was still nearby.

Al looked to his left in hopes of getting information out of Deidara, "What's going on- Huh? Brother, where did Deidara go?"

Ed also looked to see that yes, the other blond was indeed missing. Instincts told him to look up, and when he did there was a sudden increase in white hawks, all scattering in different directions, "... Al, we need to pretend like we don't know what's going on…"

With the order from his brother, Al let out his usual "I give up" sigh, "Right…"

Back with the car, Riza was explaining everything to Ling, "We're going to a safe location, so don't worry. I just need you to make sure no one is following us."

Ling's eyes snapped open so he could glare at Riza, "Turn back, my friend is still out there! I need to get her!"

Riza's hands tightened on the wheel, "We don't have time…"

"Make time! She's injured because of me, I can't leave her! She could be dying!"

Her conscious also pleaded with her, but before she could make a decision, Itachi spoke while using a voice unfamiliar to either of them, "Where is she?"

Ling looked at Itachi, he was starting to notice the familiar presence of odd chi, but it didn't click in his head that this was the same person, "In the sewers, she's missing an arm!"

"I'll get her." With that, Itachi flung himself out of the car and made a dash for the nearest sewer entrance, ignoring Ling and Riza yelling at him for doing something so insane.

The sewers were disgusting, very little seemed to be done to maintain its cleanliness and a simple inhale of the stale air was enough to make Itachi break into a full run with his sharingan activated. While Itachi was a neat freak, his main concern was to get to Lan Fan as quickly as possible. What on earth were these Xing people thinking? She's risking an infection just by standing in here!

Thankfully for the Uchiha and his nose, Lan Fan was easy to track down thanks to her unique energy and the overwhelming smell of blood coming from her. The girl looked at him in fear, but also dizzy from blood loss as she struggled to even get her hands on a kunai, "Who… who are… you?"

"I'm an ally of your prince, I'm here to get you to a safe location." Itachi didn't hesitate to walk towards her, easily disarming her when she took an instinctual swing at him, "Hn… sorry about this."

Lan Fan's eyes widened at the familiar sound but her world spun more than it was before when an arm wrapped itself around her body, hoisting her over a shoulder. A hand held her in place and it took all of her strength to not pass out from both pain, blood loss, and the sudden realization that she was safe. Whoever was carrying her was moving at an unbelievable speed, she could barely blink when they were suddenly out of the sewers.

Itachi was able to push chakra into his feet and body flicker throughout the city, mindful to avoid the military and witnesses in general. He took to following a white hawk in the sky that seemed to almost try to get his attention. Within a few minutes, he was out of the city with the hawk making sure it was always in his line of sight.

The Uchiha stepped into the wooded area with caution, letting out small amounts of fire chakra to keep Lan Fan conscious the entire time and to also keep himself aware of his surroundings. Deeming that no human was around to see him transform back, Itachi held up a hand sign and in a puff of smoke returned to normal. Lan Fan weakly coughed at the smoke but other than that was too tired to make mention of it.

"I don't know if it's ironic or not that you'd use your younger brother for a transformation jutsu, un." Deidara appeared beside Itachi, "Danna is at the safe house with the others and I think Mustang's getting a doctor."

Itachi nodded, "Good, Lan Fan needs a doctor…" He sighed, "Sasuke was the first person I thought of when transforming."

"Yeah well, let's hurry. The girl doesn't look like she's gonna stay awake for much longer, un."

"Hn." Itachi resumed walking but he couldn't help but feel uneasy when he spotted a deer staring at them with intelligent eyes. Of course, he was one of the lucky few to see Nara deer and make it out alive, but this one was… human-like 'Must be a Homunculus…' He was conflicted at that moment. Stay behind and deal with the potential threat… or deal with it later, 'If it's smart… it won't use Sasuke as a form of leverage. Otherwise, I may have to kill someone wearing his face...'

He chose to leave it alone for now.

 _A couple hours later_

Waiting, there was so much waiting to be done in this world that it was slowly getting on Sasori's nerves. Everyone was quietly waiting around the remote safehouse, the only passage of time here was the sun itself but even that was nearly gone by now. Mustang had just returned with a doctor -some old war buddy named Knox- and then the screaming began.

Knox and Riza were in the other room with Lan Fan. The doctor was complaining about how Lan Fan could have gotten a serious infection, trying to patch up the wound while the poor girl on the bed screamed through a gag from the immense pain. Outside of the room, Ling was trying his best to not show emotion, though he was failing miserably as all of this was his fault.

Sasori looked to the doorway and sighed. Konan wasn't back yet and he was tired of waiting, tired of hearing this other girl screaming.

He walked into the room where Knox only acknowledged him with a grunt, "I have something to lessen her pain." Reaching into his sleeve, Sasori pulled out a vial with a dark blue liquid, "Open her mouth, this will help."

Riza wasn't having any of that kind of bullshit, "What is it?"

"A sleeping agent, it'll relax her mind and body." Sasori resisted the urge to actually glare, "It's the same stuff I use to slip in Deidara's nighttime drinks when he was younger so he would shut up and sleep."

"You use to put what in my what, un?!" Deidara stuck his head into the room with deer-in-headlight eyes.

The redhead didn't respond to his partner and instead walked to the trio, "I'm going to give her a few drops so she relaxes, stop me and I'll make you both obey me."

Riza hesitated but complied when she saw Deidara give her the thumbs up. Honestly, if Sasori wanted to kill Lan Fan he would have made it so Itachi failed to get her from the sewers. She watched with sharp eyes as the redhead ripped the cloth out of Lan Fan's mouth, earning everyone an ear-splitting scream from the girl. Sasori gripped her jaw while it was still open, pouring an… almost molecular amount down her throat, the blue hue giving the only indication that anything was actually being poured.

'How is that suppose to relax her?' The blond woman's eyes widened when Lan Fan's tensed muscles began to relax, the girl's eyes losing the glow from the pain and fall into a daze, no more screams even after Knox pulled out a bone fragment from its tissue. Amazing! Whatever was in this liquid Sasori gave her was working faster than any form of anesthesia she's ever seen!

Riza then noticed Deidara throwing his arms in the air out of frustration, "Danna, why the hell did you never tell me you spiked my drinks with that stuff, un?!"

"It got you to sleep and be less annoying, I had to keep increasing the doses when you started to get used to it in your system." He grabbed Deidara's arm and dragged him out of the room so Knox can finish his operation. Neither of them paid any mind to the Xing prince giving them grateful looks.

"When did you stop giving me that stuff?" As far as Deidara was concerned, he slept just fine when he traveled with Itachi.

"... Remember that mission in Kirigakure?"

Deidara's jaw went slack, "That wasn't even a year ago…"

"..." Sasori turned around and walked out the door to wait for Konan, ignoring Deidara's calling out to him.

In a flurry of papers, Konan landed on the ground. She eyed the safehouse, noting that it was off the beaten path and that it wasn't the easiest thing to locate without some form of instructions even with the dirt road. Locking eyes with Sasori, "I can't stay long, I'm needed in Central. Itachi," The Uchiha appeared beside her, "you're coming with me and Hidan after he gets his head reattached."

Itachi nodded, "Right… It'll certainly be entertaining to see their reactions to Hidan's immortality."

Deidara stepped outside and leaned against the wall, blowing hair out of his face which went back to its original position, "You can guess their predictions easily. Mustang will finally believe us, the brothers will be in shock, and the Xing people -provided we give them time- will try to coax the information out of him, un. The people here are too predictable."

'And you're not?' Sasori reserved his comment to himself and held out his hand, readying himself because the moment Deidara's bird spat out it's burden and Konan removed the paper from Hidan's body he slammed his hand down on the zealot's mouth, "Remain quiet, we will get you fixed soon."

Hidan growled but complied knowing that the sooner he gets his head reattached the better.

"First a girl missing an arm and now what…?" A voice grumbled inside the house and Knox stepped out with Mustang, "Who is the other person I have to look at?"

Everyone motioned to the headless body and the head being held by Sasori.

Knox raised an eyebrow, unimpressed, "I came out here thinking I was going to help two people and you guys want me to handle another corpse? Typical."

"I am not a corpse you old bastard! Now put my head back on my body before I sacrifice all of you to Lord Jashin!"

If a pin could be dropped now, it would be the loudest thing on earth. Both Mustang and Knox stared at Hidan with wide eyes and pale skin, like their very souls were sucked out of them. At the windows Ed and Al were also watching, the older brother having an expression very similar to the adults. So, they were being serious when saying that Hidan was immortal. Mustang quietly began to ponder if his flame alchemy could even burn this man to death if he tried.

Deidara gave Itachi an "I told you so" look, "Like an open book, don't you think?"

"Hn..." Honestly, if his respect falls any lower for the people in this world, he wouldn't mind helping Konan take over the government just so he could have control of the education system. Indeed... this was a tempting idea.

Knox slowly walked to the screaming head as if expecting it to fly around and bite him, "Now I've seen everything… You can even speak without lungs or vocal cords if this cut is as clean as I think it is…" He jumped in shock when Deidara tapped his shoulder and give him the cable. It was thin, less than a 3rd of an inch thick but made from strong steel, "I guess I can see what I can do."

Without much prepping, Knox threaded the cable through a needle Sasori provided and got to work sewing the head back on. It took some effort keeping his body still so the doctor could repair the spine correctly. Unlike Lan Fan, the most noise Hidan made was some discomforting grunts, almost as if the albino was USE to these kinds of injuries- naahhh, that's ridiculous. What kinds of people is Mustang getting involved with if it ended up with him knowing an... dare he say it, immortal?

The moment Knox finished the stitching and backed away, he nearly collapsed seeing Hidan spring to his feet and start cracking his neck, "Fuck man, I do not want to experience that again, not fun. Hey doc, how long do I have to keep these stitches in my neck before I can rip them out?"

Knox's mouth went dry at the question, "Your spine was severed, you shouldn't be able to even function like you are now!"

Hidan blinked a few times, "So… a week then. Great… Hey Konan, can we fucking go now?"

Konan nodded, also giving the man his prayer necklace and headband, "Yes. I'll see you at work Colonel. Do be mindful that even the shadows hold secrets even you are ignorant to." In three clouds of smoke, the trio disappeared, leaving no traces besides six footprints in the grass. The cryptic message loomed over Mustang's head, making him occasionally look behind him to stare at his shadow.

Sasori and Deidara walked back to the door where Mustang was still in the way, "Move." Sasori placed a hand on Mustang's shoulder and shoved him, going inside and to the room where Gluttony was held, "What are you going to do with him?"

Mustang took long strides over to them, holding a lantern with everyone else standing behind him, "Dunno, we think they have close connections with some of the military... so he may have valuable inforamtion."

Ling jolted, "Some? Try the whole military! I saw your Fuhrer with the same tattoo on his eye, I'm pretty sure he too is a Homunculus."

"Oh he is, we confirmed this weeks ago." Everyone looked at Sasori in shock, "We could never find files on Bradley that wasn't too squeaky clean. Family photos, medical records on that eye of his, none of those important pieces of history exists."

Mustang gulped, "How did you learn all of this?"

"I have my ways… I can only imagine what he's made the military do for the sake of his plans. At least in the Akatsuki we never have to worry about if our boss is just using us or not, our place in his plans have been straightforward." On the inside, Sasori was seething at how little information his network was able to find. Anything of use against Bradley was already public information; his wife, son, daily life, even files locked away from even the highest of officials held no such luck, 'I know just as much about King Bradley as I do our own leader... and we barely keep record in our world. This world... it files everything, Konan has to submit a weekly report! Yet, Bradley has nothing...'

"Heh… That's rich considering you are all criminals..." Mustang chuckles weakly, "Whatever… Human or monster, either way, this information will make it easier to remove him from power. First, we question this guy, then I'll take his stone, it can be used to treat my men."

This was enough to spark arguments among the group. Ling wanted the stone to heal Lan Fan, while Ed and Al wanted the stone to get their bodies back to normal. Knox wasn't interested in this and instead started to head out while the Akatsuki watched with mild amusement.

"So… this is what we look like to others, un."

Sasori frowned, "Don't compare us to these brats, but this feels like whenever Itachi and Kisame would watch us argue… disgusting."

"Itachi…?"

Deidara and Sasori turned their heads to Gluttony, both readying chakra in case they needed to bolt.

"Itachi is the one that killed Lust… Mustang helped kill Lust... Mustang and Itachi must pay for what they did to her!"

The fighting stopped when the others noticed Gluttony strain himself in breaking free from the cords. He managed to stand up and got a good look at Mustang at the door, "Roy Mustang!" His stomach split open, an eye appearing and red sparks fizzled out at the rim. Sasori already acted quickly, using chakra strings to throw everyone out of the way and also jumping aside as Gluttony unleashed his attack.

Outside, Riza began to hear noises inside the house that was anything from the usual chatter and banter that would be expected from the boys. Wanting to make sure the Colonel was safe she went to the door and reached for the handle, only for a large section of the wall to be seemingly vaporized just a few feet from her.

* * *

 **Am I evil for a cliffhanger? Maybe. Is it needed for the flow of the story? HELL YEAH! I struggled so hard to figure out how to end this chapter so the next one isn't ruined in flow, so I took the anime's approach to it.**

 **I didn't know who I was going to have Itachi transform as until I realized that things could be pretty interesting if people start thinking that's a way to get to him. Also I literally wrote the first person that came to mind and Sasuke poked at my brain.**

 **Next chapter will have all that fun crazy stuff with the Homunculi and the Elric brothers. Only this time around there are the artist duo with them and a cerian puppet master has been weeks without using his marionettes.**

 **As always, reviews are loved and I will see you all in the next chaper.**

 **Bye!**


	16. Endless Void

**Hi guys! Sorry that my schedule keeps getting out of order, I've just been getting super busy lately. Oh well, better late than on hiatus in my opinion. :D**

 **Thank you guys for the faves, follows and reviews!**

 **Guest: I don't understand your question. If you are asking if Truth will absorb Father then the answer is most likely going to be a yes.**

 **Greer123: It's always amusing giving the FMAB characters a shock.**

 **princessbinas: Honestly, my only struggle with swearing for Hidan is that I refuse to use swear words that fall under derogatory terms as many that I have not used (at least according to wiki) are either racist or homophobic. Neither are ones that I will willingly use unless it is something the character ACTUALLY says in the original source material (which then I would make the fic rated M instantly). On note of the Sasuke part… heh, I don't know who the Homunculus would be more afraid of, Sasuke or a pissed off Itachi.**

 **PSplinter09: Thank you so much for the feedback! I appreciate that you took the time to read my fanfic! :D**

 **Warning: Swearing, violence, lots of mentions of blood, the usual.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own FMAB or Naruto.**

* * *

Riza jumped away from the house in shock, worried when there was no sound from inside, "What just happened?! Colonel!" Despite the fact that an entire chunk of the house plus the ground was now missing, Riza ran towards the new opening.

"Hawkeye stay back!"

Riza froze in place when an unknown force blasted past her, her rifle now missing its barrel in a similar fashion to the building and ground. Unable to support its own weight anymore, the edge of the house's roof began to collapse to the ground, leaving Gluttony standing in the darkness with glowing red eyes. Quickly reacting, Riza pulled out her handgun to point at the Homunculus, and at the same time pulled out yet another handgun as rubble fell to reveal everyone else except for the Akatsuki.

"Lieutenant!" Roy grunted in a muffled tone while trying to remove Xiao Mei from his face, "Don't provoke him! He's after me and Itachi!"

Riza's eyes quickly scanned the group, noting that Ling, the girl, and the Akatsuki members are missing, "Where are the rest?" She ran to the side when Gluttony spewed out another attack towards Mustang, which thankfully everyone was able to dodge.

Inside the cabin, Ling was waking up Lan Fan and helping her sit up, "We need to get out of here… the Homunculus is…"

"He can swallow entire matter without hesitation, un." Deidara took long strides to walk over to the bed, "Let me carry her."

Ling frowned, "I don't trust you with her!" How could he? After what he's seen what these people are able to do, one of them is immortal! As far as he can tell they would try and kill her- wait why is Deidara ignoring him?!

The blond picked up the weakened woman bridal style with ease, "I can't use my art here unless I want us to attract attention. I'll carry the girl, you keep us safe, un. Danna, do you mind helping as well."

But Sasori wasn't paying attention to the conversation. No, he was focusing on something approaching the area, "Let's go." Sticking close to his partner, he also began to write something down on some paper that he used alchemy to make.

The group quickly headed for the car where Knox was waiting for everyone to make an escape. Deidara didn't hesitate to throw open one of the back doors and resting Lan Fan in it. Though, Knox wasn't too pleased with the blond's actions, "I know we're pressed for time with that thing chasing us, but do you mind being more gentle with my damn car?"

"Bite me, un." Looking both ways, Deidara made quick work to create a clay bird which he had swallow whatever Sasori wrote. Handing it over to Knox, the blond kept looking over his shoulder as immense energy was being released in the forest, "Give this to one of our comrades."

"Like I'm going to risk my damn neck giving a message to your boss!" Knox shouted, more likely due to stress than anything else.

Sasori suddenly appeared by Knox's window, leaning an arm on the rim, "Itachi works at a restaurant. Give it to him, you'll get a meal on the house." He was not in any mood to negotiate with this man even if everyone's lives were on the line, "The Akatsuki needs to know about Gluttony's powers so we can properly take care of him."

Knox gritted his teeth, "... Fine, but I better not get involved with any more of your games!"

Just then, Roy and the others managed to rush to the car. The Colonel, noticeably missing his coat, was thrown in the passenger seat by Ed, "Get in, invalid." It wasn't long before Roy realized that the kids would be the ones to go back after Gluttony.

Deidara and Sasori watched as the group argued about the safety of the kids, neither one too interested in joining in the conversation as no one seemed keen on worrying about them. Then again, at least for the older of the two, the concerns of these people were one of the last things they needed at this moment. Not bothering to wait and see who would be the brave souls to follow, the duo made their way into the forest to look for Gluttony… which honestly wasn't that hard since the creature was not only screaming but eating everything in his way. Not long after finding Gluttony, Ed, Al, and Ling caught up with them.

"I know we said we'd stay… but that is seriously freaky." Deidara heard Ed mutter to the others beside him.

"He seems to be a bit angry…" Ling was quivering in his shoes.

"How are we going to catch him?" Al hid poorly behind a tree with the panda on his head.

Deidara rolled his eyes, "Danna, do you think a paralyzing agent would work on him?" He watched as Sasori shoved a hand into his cloak to find a scroll, only to stop when some bushes rustled nearby.

Everyone swerved their heads back to see a large Doberman standing in the clearing. The glowing red eyes were all too familiar to Deidara, but to the rest, it just seemed like an intimidating creature. And then it opened its mouth.

"Stop it Gluttony!" Gluttony stopped what he was doing, looking at the dog with his full attention.

Ed's shoulder's slacked, "A… talking dog?"

That seemed to get the dog's attention, as it looked to Ed with a grin, "Hey… long time no see!" Red sparks formed and the dog's body convulsed with strain. What were once canine limbs turned human, followed by the torso and then the head. In the place of the dog, it became Envy, whose grin became more sadistic than his other form, "How's it been, Fullmetal Pipsqueak?"

Deidara's expression went blank, 'If Edward doesn't react to that comment I'll kiss Itachi on the mouth… please react, I didn't mean to think that!'

Like that one idiot who presses the red button, Ed acted like a missile and made a beeline for Envy, "Damnit, I told you before! Don't call me SHORT!" Leaping into the air, Ed made the attempt to kick Envy in the head, only for the Homunculus to wisely dodge the attack.

"Oh thank Kami, un…" Deidara held a hand to his chest to let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Sasori eyed his partner like the boy had lost his senses if he had any left, but refused to make any comments. As far as the puppet master would be concerned, this was a can of worms he would not be opening anytime soon., "Ed really has no right to be pissed off whenever someone calls him short, if I were him I'd just suck it up and drink my damn milk, un."

Ed, who was primarily focused on the Envy in a tree after being called short a 5th time, snapped his head at the Akatsuki, "Say it again to my face! Call me short! I'll tear you limb from limb you bastard!"

Despite the current situation Deidara laughed, "Pah! So I can be on level with you? Try me after we deal with the Homunculus, un!"

Ed growled but went back to focus on Envy. The dark-haired Homunculus jumped off the tree to land by Gluttony, who was insisting that he eat Mustang, "You can't eat the Colonel or the Elric brothers."

"Why not?! Can I eat the Akatsuki?"

"Oh, right, they're here too." Envy looked at the artist duo with a smirk, "Nice to see you again, blondie. Having fun traveling around the world? How does it feel being back with your kiddo of a partner? And no Gluttony, you can't eat them. Not until they meet Father."

"Aww…" Tears ran comically down Gluttony's face.

Ling walked out from behind Al, "I see you have the same amount of life force as your friend. Tell me, how many people are inside you?"

Envy's face twisted into a glare for a half second before confidently used Gluttony as an armrest, "I know you, you're that kid who fought Wrath, right?"

Deidara and Sasori exchanged looks, 'So that's Bradley's real name…' Considering what is called a sin in this world, all that was missing was Sloth. If either were to be honest with themselves, that one sounded like it'll be more terrifying than the other Homunculi.

Ling slammed his hand to his chest, "What do you mean kid? I'll have you know that I am the 12th prince of Xing! My name is-"

"Eat him."

Like something straight out of a cartoon, one moment Ling was staring at the Homunculus with this delayed, blank expression; the next he was running for his life away from a ravenous Gluttony. It appears that the only things on that Homunculus' mind is food and Lust, which to the Akatsuki made absolutely no sense whatsoever. The duo watched as Ed and Al exchanged a few words before Ed clapped his hands together and slamming them onto the ground.

Ling just arrived to have a wall block Gluttony's path when Ed's voice rang out, "Ling! You take care of that one with the Akatsuki! We have this one…"

Envy smirked coyly when he saw this was a three-on-one fight, "Heh… you humans like to play unfair now don't you?" However, survival instincts made Envy take a cautious step to the side when the unusual pair got too close. He knew that it wasn't either of these two that burnt Lust to the ground, but while he could get a general idea of what Deidara was capable of… the red-headed kid on the other hand… Something was off about him.

Deidara leaned against the wall calmly, "We'll see what both of you got before fighting, right Sasori, un?" Sasori didn't respond and instead kept to being inhumanly still while Ling brandished his curved sword.

"Tch… fine, be that way." Envy got into a fighting stance while Ling charged headfirst at him.

Sasori analyzed the fight, noting each quirk the Homunculus was displaying. Many of them, at least in his opinion, were rookie mistakes if the creature wasn't able to regenerate himself. Envy continuously allowed Ling to get close in order get an upper edge, 'He's not suited for full on combat… at least… not in that form…'

On the other hand, Deidara was noting how the ground all but caved in everytime Envy placed pressure on it. For such a slim body, Envy certainly weighed a lot, "Hey, Danna? Do you think he's-"

The shinobi jump to opposite sides as Alphonse came crashing through the wall, landing harshly on his stomach and Ed beside him. They quickly discovered that Gluttony was in the mess, and through it, Ling sliced off one of Envy's legs so he fell helplessly to the ground also making the dirt cave around him.

Ling raised his sword to strike at Envy but watched with horror as what was once a cruel smile morphed into the pitiful face of Lan Fan. All Envy needed was for that split second of hesitation, "Go for it Gluttony!"

Gluttony readied to swallow Ling when Ed rushed forward to tackle the prince. Envy paled when he realized they were about to lose a sacrifice and also reached forward, grabbing on to Ed's leg.

Sasori didn't think when he too, reacted. He merely attached chakra strings to his partner, throwing Deidara out of the way, his arm stretched out to match his sudden movement. There was no meaning behind it, no logical thought, his body reacted like how he's always acted in the past; keep the brat from getting injured, you cannot afford a new partner.

"SASORI!"

Not a blink later, and they were gone.

The lower half of Envy's body slowly faded into dust and a harsh wooden-like thud echoed through Deidara's ears as Sasori's left arm from the elbow down landed, his ring gleaming in the moonlight. The bomber slowly walked to the hand, picking it up and stared at it numbly, as if his brain wasn't processing what he was holding. Al was also missing an arm as he was trying to grab for his brother, but now he was frozen in pure shock.

Al's body snapped in the direction of Gluttony and he tackled the Homunculus to the ground, "Brother! Ling! Spit them out! NOW!"

"I can't… I swallowed them." Gluttony spoke in a timid but matter-of-fact tone, the teeth like appendages sticking out of his stomach close up. What he didn't expect was a foot crashing down onto his face, "Ow…"

"I don't care if you're a Homunculus! Spit out Sasori or I'll rip your stone out of your gullet and use it in my art, un!" Raising his foot again, Deidara's foot planted itself on Gluttony's large head with a growl, "DO IT! GIVE ME BACK MY PARTNER, UN!"

Gluttony shoved both of them away, backing up timidly and twiddling his thumbs, "I can't, I was made to swallow things, not spit them up… They're gone…"

Deidara's growl turned into a yell of undefined rage, shoving his hands into his clay pouch, the teen stormed into the forest where an explosion is heard a minute later.

Al slowly walked to a tree, sitting against it and remaining perfectly still while rage was spewing from behind him and a lost Homunculus sat where he stood.

In an unknown dimension, Ed woke up in an endless sea of blood and destruction, "What the?! Where the hell am I?! Hello? Anyone there?" He sloshed through the blood, calling out to an empty void where no one responded, "Damnit… this is all Ling's fault! That idiotic prince!"

"Who do you think you are to call me that?" Oh now someone responds! Ling was trudging towards Ed and holding a makeshift torch, "You can't call the future emperor of Xing that. Have some manners."

Excited, Ed ran towards Ling, "Are you alright-" But he paused, "Wait a second, how do I know you're the real Ling and not Envy?"

If his eyes were open, Ling would be rolling them, "Please, do you want me to recite the entire hotel menu from top to bottom? Because I will." Noting Ed's nod in confirmation, "And how do I know you're not Envy? You little runt."

"WHO YOU CALLING A RUNT YOU JERK!" Ling calmly held his hand up as Ed defied gravity trying to kick him in the head.

"Okay, it's really you."

"You brats are easy to find."

Ling and Ed broke into fighting stances at the sound of the voice. In the darkness and coming into their light was Sasori, except unlike the teens, he was standing on top of the blood, "Is there a way to prove I'm me? Or do I need to demonstrate my abilities, waste my chakra, and potentially hurt one of you?"

Ling crouched down, ready to pounce, "I dunno, how about you show me what you can do!" He sprung into the air, blood flying everywhere. He aimed for Sasori's head, thinking he would dodge, but instead the prince found himself floating helplessly in the air, "What is this?!"

Ed deadpanned, "Well… he's the real Sasori. Ling, Al told me about this, he can control bodies. Unless Envy can copy abilities…"

"I'm twice both of your ages."

"..." Ed slammed a hand on his hip, "Nevermind, he's the real deal." Looking to the side, something caught Ed's eye. It was Al's arm, laying innocently on some rubble.

Sasori put the annoying prince down, not bothering to look at how Ling was curiously watching him walk across the surface the same way he would the ground, "So your brother lost an arm just like me." The redhead looked to where his missing limb should be with annoyance, "Deidara better keep it safe until we can return."

Ling frowned, something was off about this guy, "Why aren't you bleeding? You lost an arm."

"My limbs are automail, I cannot bleed from something that has no blood." Sasori lied after picking out the right word, it's been quite some time since someone questioned his limbs. He really must thank the Rockbell girl for providing the perfect cover for him without even knowing it.

However, the prince wasn't as stupid as he leads others to believe, "Yeah right, then tell me why I can't sense any life from you?"

Ed tensed up, "What do you mean, Ling? Of course, he's alive!"

"That's not what I mean! He has no pulse, I can't sense energy like with you or this guy's partners! I didn't notice it before because he's never alone… and I always thought the sounds that came from him everytime he moves were off… but now I can tell he's not normal!" Ling pointed accusingly at Sasori, "Tell us what you are!"

Sasori didn't move. In fact, as far as Ling and Ed could tell, he wasn't even breathing. The options weighed carefully in the puppetmaster's head, with a simple conclusion coming to mind, "I'm merely no longer human." He resisted the urge to smirk as he reached up with his right hand, slowly unbuttoning his cloak. Ling's own eyes were wide open now and both boy's pupils were dilated with fear when they began to notice the lines, "Fourteen years ago I used a jutsu I developed to turn my body into a perfect reflection of my art. An eternal body that requires no food, no air… frozen in time forever. Eternal in all its glory, with all the weapons I could need."

Draping his cloak across his arm, Sasori allowed his stomach cable to slither out, stabbing into the ground under the blood and stepping onto it like a beam, "I am a human puppet. Not a Homunculus, or a product of alchemy, no science can explain how I am alive but I am indeed alive. I simply feel neither pain nor emotions." The brown of his eyes shrinks as he no longer needed to show off a more human appearance. To add to the fact that he no longer lives within flesh, Sasori did the most simple, almost innocent gesture possible.

He tilted his head.

The sound wasn't that of neck bones cracking but instead was a hollow, wooden click that made the teens' blood run cold. Ed took a step back, his body slowly shaking, "This is… it can't be possible… even this breaks…"

Sasori let out a quick chuckle that once again sounded hollow and stepped down, returning himself to a more human look with his cloak back on, "I shouldn't have to remind you brats but judging by the idiotic looks on your faces… I am not allowed to hurt either of you."

A light bulb turns on inside Ed's head as he slowly lifts his hands to clap.

"That does not mean I am forbidden to defend myself, I could render the two of you limp for several days."

And the arms go back down.

Sasori turns around when Ling spoke up, "You turned yourself into a puppet… have you done the same to others?"

The shinobi stopped in his tracks and after waiting for a few metaphorical breaths to pass he then resumed walking as if he didn't hear Ling, "Don't stray too far. If we lose each other, I'll find the two of you… and now you know something that Envy cannot mimic."

Over the course of the next what seems to be hours, Sasori kept an eye on the boys while they pointlessly looked for an exit. From trying to find a bottom using an alchemic well to just running around like headless chickens. All this was doing for them was dwindling what little energy they had. Of course, Sasori was fine, he didn't feel tired in the slightest and thankfully the boys made enough noise to where even if they ran he didn't have to worry about them dropping dead. But eventually, they started to slow down, by a lot.

"You know… blood doesn't make good terrain." Ling complained for what was the 10th time in the last thirty minutes, "Not to mention I'm starving."

"Yeah, same… why does this place never end?" Ed let out a sigh, giving a jealous glare to Sasori, "lucky bastard…"

"Careful Ed, he'll offer to turn you into a puppet if you complain around him…" With that, Ling collapsed against an abandoned pillar, "I can't go on…"

Sasori was anything but impressed, "Tch… Deidara can function for three days without rest. Elric, carry him and we'll go to a platform, I may have something that could help you two."

Naturally, Ed returned this order with another glare, but he put Ling on his back anyway. Following Sasori to a platform off the blood, Ed watched as the shinobi pulled out a scroll, "What's in there?"

"Supplies… here we are." Placing a palm onto the scroll, a small pouch appeared in his hand. Sasori opened it to reveal small, shiny, balls barely the size of a pea, "Give one to Ling, I want to see if it will react within him."

Ed leaned backwards, "What are those?"

"Soldier pills." Sasori answered, "Shinobi eat these when on long missions when rations are low, it has enough energy to make someone function for three days without stopping. No, it's not poisoned. Pellets are not my style, I prefer liquid or gas." Again, Ed still did not trust him, "I hold onto these for Deidara, the brat always forgets to keep some on him. Now eat."

"Ed…" Ling limply raised his hand, "Ed it's fine, I can tell it's not poisoned… besides, if he wanted to kill us he would have done so hours ago."

"Well…" Ed gulped, "Alight…"

Cautiously taking the pill from Sasori, Ed fed it to Ling. At first, nothing seemed to happen, but then out of nowhere, Ling sprang to his feet with a whoop, "Wow I didn't know I could have so much energy! Holy cow what is in that stuff!" If Sasori had an actual brain he would be getting a migraine right now.

'He's like Deidara and Hidan on coffee…' Eyeing Ed, Sasori pinched another pill until it broke in half, "You shouldn't get hyper from this amount. A fair warning, you will be completely exhausted once the substance wears off." He watched Ed consume the pill, mind wandering elsewhere, 'So giving a chakra based substance to someone without chakra… then it's the equivalent to injecting someone with pure caffeine. I'll need to test this out on some more people.'

Ed shivered when he felt his hunger seemingly vanish from his body. It was as if he just consumed a large, nutrient meal with a cup of coffee every few bites, "Woah… I don't think I'll want to make it a habit of eating those things."

Ling -who was now bouncing where he stood- made a sharp turn to the left, "Someone's coming…"

Sasori didn't even look up as he put away the pouch, "It's just Envy."

"I should have known it would be you guys…" Envy trudged over, sitting on a pillar.

"Please show me the way out of here!"

Ling looked to Ed in shock, "How could you just start begging the enemy like that?"

"If it means getting out of here I'll be his best friend!" Ed yelled back, ignoring the fact that Sasori was hovering him with a deadpan look.

"It doesn't matter because there is no way out." Envy interrupted the teens' soon-to-be argument.

And so, Sasori with the patience of a fallen saint, listened to Envy explain to Ed and Ling about Gluttony. The whole thing was not only stupid but also something that Orochimaru would definitely do… except if the puppet master was a betting man, he'd bet his former partner would have succeeded with flying colors. The idea of a "Gate of Truth" was not a new concept, honestly, it was almost identical to what the afterlife is believed to be like.

"All we can do is wait here… and die."

Die? Was this Homunculus serious? Does he honestly think that Sasori, the greatest puppet master in all of shinobi history, would die in this place?

Ed looked at his hands, "No… I promised Al that we would get our bodies back… damn it! Besides the Gate, who the hell is this Father you talked about?! Is it Bradley?!" Okay, even Sasori had to admit the question was stupid.

Envy rolled his eyes, "Psh, he's just a Homunculus."

Ed gritted his teeth in frustration, "The 5th Laboratory, using human lives to make Philosopher's stones and Homunculi… was it you guys behind the Ishvalan war?!"

Envy suddenly broke into a wide grin, "Ishval? Man, I couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable job! Remember how the war started?"

Sasori stepped forward, "You transformed into an officer and shot either a small child or a pregnant woman in front of the Ishvalan. In turn, you started a war in order to massacre an easy target to make more stones. Am I wrong?" Everyone looked at him with wide eyes, two out of shock and the other one out of being impressed.

Envy rested his elbow on his knee, "I take it you have seen your fair share of war?"

"It's one of the most common techniques used by shinobi, we simply impersonate a comrade and cause chaos within the ranks as they can no longer trust each other." Sasori responded, earning a whistled from the Homunculus, "Villages also often send 'ambassadors of peace' to former enemies in order for that person to be killed and give villages either a reason to start another war or to demand something that would benefit them."

"Heh… what fun. I caused the end of an entire country with a single bullet! I mean talk about invigorating!" Envy clapped his hands together, "And get this! The officer I impersonated was always protesting the occupation of Ishval, and after I killed the girl, they court martial him! You humans are so easily manipulated!"

Sasori had a certain scroll in his only hand with a flick of the wrist the moment Ed stepped into the blood. This was going to cause a fight and he's been getting rusty from not using his puppets.

"So it was you that started it all… you shot and killed that innocent little girl. You destroyed my hometown! You drove out the Ishvalan, made a murder out of Scar… and because of you, Winry's parents were killed!" All of Ed's ranting did nothing but cause an even wider, toothier grin from Envy, "This is all your fault!"

Ed raised his fist, slamming the metal appendage against Envy's cheek. But he barely moved. Instead, the Homunculus looked at Ed with annoyance, like the punch was a minor inconvenience than anything else, "Okay then, if that's what you want."

"Ed, get out of the way!" Ling jumped to Ed and the blond backed up, "I knew something was up with him…"

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't you notice his footprints when we were fighting in the forest? He's freakishly heavy for someone of his size…" Ling looked up as Envy's face morphed and his body grew to immense sizes, "And I think we're about to see his true size now…"

Envy in his monstrous form slammed down on the ground, causing waves of blood to rush at Ed and Ling while they stuck to pillars, "How is this possible? I thought Homunculus were artificial humans, right?!"

Sasori kept to standing on the waves, a smirk forming on his lips. Holding his hand out, he unraveled a scroll with the kanji for three on it, "It's time for a puppet show…"

Out in the real world, dawn flourished in the sky. Al remained perfectly still the entire night in which birds rested on him, happily chirping away while Xiao Mei cautiously stuck to the armored boy for safety. A few feet away was a sleeping Deidara who had worn himself out after hours of rage.

Gluttony made small whining noises as he inched towards Al, "Oh… What should I do…?"

"... How should I know?" Al responded back with apathy.

"I swallowed Envy… I don't know what to do, Father will be mad with me…"

That seemed like the magic word to not only knock Al from his daze but also wake up Deidara.

Al looked up at Gluttony, "You have a father?"

"You didn't know, un?" Deidara walked over, stretching an arm in the air while his other hand kept a tight grip on Sasori's arm. He watched as Al touched Gluttony's stomach then stare at his hand, "That's why these freaks of nature kept on harassing me and the other Akatsuki… hey… Homunculus."

Gluttony flinched, noticeably terrified of the bomber, "Yes?"

"Why don't you take us to see your father? Al's one of your human sacrifices and he wanted to meet an Akatsuki member, right, un?"

Gluttony gave a happy grin that almost seemed innocent and childlike, "That's right, I can take you to see Father! He'll be happy to meet the two of you!"

Al quickly caught on, "Yeah! That's exactly right!" He looked to Deidara and nearly gasped from the murderous expression he was making when Gluttony had his back against the two of them, 'Guess he's more upset about his friend than I thought…'

Deidara pretended to crack his neck and let out an exasperated sigh, 'Either I get Sasori back… or I'm going to test out my latest art on this entire country… it'll give me good practice for when I have to capture the Ichibi…'

While the trio headed back to the city, more problems seemed to be arising for the Akatsuki. In Central, Mustang was walking with Fuhrer King Bradley when they met up with Konan outside Bradley's office. She was standing there with a blank expression and was oddly enough, wearing the Amestris military uniform, "Despite your hair being blue, this outfit really doesn't suit you!" Roy forced out a laugh while Bradley stood there ominously.

"Orders from the Fuhrer, apparently I will be given an assignment soon and requested I wear this uniform." Konan shifted in the clothes, wanting very much to tear the stiff, restrictive garment off. If Itachi wasn't resting, she would have taken him with her. They had received Deidara's message from Knox that same night during Itachi's night shift. If the Akatsuki had to pick a priority Homunculus to get rid of, Gluttony now tied with Envy has prime targets for removal.

"Let's go inside my office to talk." Bradley opened the door and allowed the two in. He kept his open eye trained on Mustang while his Ultimate eye focused on Konan from under the eyepatch. Even with the uniform on and the fact that she is speaking to him alone, Bradley could almost smell the defiance from this woman… and he needed to get her out of the picture. There were still four other Akatsuki members, and Father only needs one to study on.

"Let's begin with the lady, hmm, Mustang?" Bradley hummed to Roy, who had just sat in a chair.

"Of course, sir…" What was Bradley planning on doing? Roy wasn't sure if he should keep his eyes trained on the Homunculus in front of him, or the woman standing behind him.

Bradley pulled out some papers and offered them to Konan, "It appears I have been neglecting proper training for you. You are a woman of the military and should be trained under one of our finest female soldiers... am transferring you to Briggs in the north to work under Major General Armstrong. I hope this won't be a problem."

* * *

 **Oh my goodness there is so much happening at once! I wasn't sure how I wanted to end this chapter, but I think this was a good place to end it off on as it gives me something to work with for the next chapter.**

 **On a side note, I want to get your feedback on the transitional periods that I've been trying to use the last few chapters. Does it flow okay? Is it easy to follow and understand when a new scene is swapped? I wanted to use them and use less italic for transitional moments as my next fanfic is mimicking a writing style that uses italics for emphasis. I want to avoid using lines as it's a pet peeve of mine to always see when a new scene is being written out. I most likely will keep using this style of writing so I can get use to it for future projects but I would really like to hear your guy's feedback on it as my beta has been loving it.**

 **Next chapter will consist of the conclusion of Gluttony's stomach as well as a few other things. Hopefully I can get it done on time!**

 **As always, reviews are loved and I will see you guys in the next chapter.**

 **bye!**


	17. Encountering the Truth

**Hi guys, hope you all had a good holiday with whatever you all celebrate! Sorry about not posting for a while, my beta had her finals and also with the holidays happening I haven't had the time to write.**

 **I'm taking some feedback I received in the reviews to test and see what works and what doesn't, so this chapter will be using breaks in between scenes to separate them. Let me know if this is better than the transitional periods that I've been using, so far I'm really liking how they turn out.**

 **Also, I'll be responding to reviews that are more feedback/question based rather than responding to every single one of them as the author notes are getting unnecessarily long just for me to respond with one or two words. I appreciate and love every review that I get, but it happened with my other fic where it took me forever to respond to everyone and I want to minimize it.**

 **In any case, thank you guys so much for the faves, follows and reviews.**

 **BloodPokemon101: I had my beta make a line break for me so hopefully it makes it easier to read! :)**

 **princessbinas: Don't forget that Envy has no access to chakra which Sakura had a lot of. Also poisons… poisons always work.**

 **Guest: We will have to see on how Father's powers push the Akatsuki to their limits. While the Akatsuki are powerful, I doubt they'll be able to take down someone that is the equivalent to a god.**

 **Drake G. Reaper: We'll just have to wait and see what I plan on doing in later chapters for the Akatsuki. Spoiler alert: I do plan on having them obtain a stone at some point, but I ain't gonna say how, for who, or if it's going with them when they return home.**

 **LilyWhite KittyWake: (Cute username btw), nope, no Obito in this. I wanted to work with Konan more since she gets very little love in the fanfiction community and Obito would hog the spotlight if I got him involved.**

 **PSplinter09: I already have a plan for the epilogue which will pretty much be a summary of what will happen after the Akatsuki return home, so you'll just have to wait and see. :)**

 **Warning: Violence, drama, I poke at flaws with Xing's government, some heavy topics regarding Itachi, language and there is some more extreme cases of OOCness in this than normal, especially for Sasori.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own FMAB or Naruto**

 **Update: 1/10/2019: Holy shit the site messed up the side story! I'm so sorry about it! I broke up all of the paragraphs so it's more readable. Again, I'm so sorry about the mistake, if you ever see stuff like this happen again PLEASE let me know so I can fix it ASAP.**

* * *

If looks could kill, Konan would not only be an Uchiha, but Bradley would be burning where he stood.

Of course she knew where Briggs was. Besides the written language, the geography of this world was a top priority and Briggs was far away. Too far away for her liking. Not to mention based on where it is, she would have limited contact with her men and it's too cold for her jutsu to be used freely.

He wants to isolate her.

Bradley kept his eyes closed as he continued to smile, papers still held outstretched in his hand, "What is your answer? I have a busy schedule and I must speak with Mustang."

'I am under no position to say no…' Konan took a short breath to cool her expression. There were pros and cons to this situation and being sent to Briggs. Yes, she would be away from her men but as long as she gave orders before she left they would be fine. Bradley could not touch them, they were not military and thus they were not obligated to take direct orders from him.

Maybe going to Briggs wouldn't be terrible. She would be away from Central and getting military training from someone named Armstrong-...

Oh… she could work with this.

Without hesitation and with the jerky movement of a robot, Konan accepted the papers, "Thank you for this opportunity." She didn't look at Mustang to see his shocked expression. She wanted to burn Bradley's smug look into her memory so that it would be the reminder. A reminder that every freezing moment in Briggs, would all be to rip his face clean off, leaving behind the pathetic skeleton he hid inside.

"Your transfer begins immediately, I suggest packing and taking a train before nightfall so you can get there by the morning." Bradley took a step back, eyes closed and smiling.

Packing… that will give her enough time to give her orders to Itachi. Konan turned on her heel, holding in a wince when her obnoxious boots squeaked and headed for the door.

"Oh, and Konan?" Bradley called out to her, waiting for her to look at him, "Dress warmly. Frostbite is a nasty risk when in the snow."

"..." She kept her mouth shut as she left the door, resisting the urge to slam it shut Tucking the papers in a safe location, she went to the women's restrooms to change into her Akatsuki cloak. Returning to her comfort zone, Konan opened the door, turned into paper and flew off to pack.

xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

Sasori patiently waited for the perfect moment. He needed these idiotic boys to get out of his way less he wastes an antidote on them.

Ling grabbed Ed after he nearly got squashed by Envy, "Ed, snap out of it! Don't pay attention to Envy's tricks! They're not people anymore, they're just energy!"

A loud poof noise caught everyone's attention, all heads turning to look at Sasori and no one could believe what they saw.

A man hovered over Sasori's smaller form, dark hair resting against an even darker cloak with the same ominous cracking noise that Sasori made earlier repetitively coming out of him. A marionette. No one could see the chakra strings that kept the puppet in the air and no one expected the puppet to move without Sasori's own hand moving.

"I believe I've waited long enough." Sasori swished his arm up and the Third Kazekage flew towards Envy with massive blades that physically should not come out of such thin arms. Envy didn't think much of it, batting the puppet away with his tail, getting a cut in the process. The massive beast almost immediately convulsed as red sparks danced across his body, "Let's see how many lives it takes before my poison kills you."

Ed gasped, "Ling! Get out of his way!" Grabbing the prince by the arm, he broke into a run and jumped onto some rubble.

"What the hell?! Why did you grab me?!"

Cold sweat dripped from Ed's face, "I barely know what these guys are capable of, and this guy is the most unknown to me. All I learned from Al was that he can control people with invisible strings… but he can use poisons…"

Ling snorted, "My body is almost completely immune to poisons because of so many assassination attempts. What could go wrong?"

Sasori made a mental note to give the prince a demonstration when he was done with the Homunculus. Envy had finally stopped twitching when the puppet master used a hand seal and the Third Kazekage's mouth slide open and black sand floated out, "I suppose I can show off a specialty with my puppets."

Envy tilted his head, "Oh? What specialty?"

"This." Sasori made the sand turn into simple geometric shapes, but this time the purple liquid dripping from the sand did not go unnoticed, "My puppets retain the abilities of their former selves. This is what made the Third Kazekage, the leader of a whole village, such a difficult but rewarding person to kill."

Ling's eyes snapped open, "'Kill'...?" He growled as he glared at Sasori, "So he has made puppets of other people… and I thought it was just the Homunculus that were monsters. But how is this physically possible?"

Ed kept his mouth shut, watching the battle in front of him with calculating eyes. The sand was made of the highest grade of iron that he had ever seen, perfect for powerful magnets. The poison itself was unidentifiable but the technique was simple enough, it's just soaked in. When the sand hit Envy it was with the force that the Alchemist could only compare to a large truck ramming into an even bigger truck.

However, Ed noticed something that was off about all the rubble. When he finally took his eyes off the fight and looked at the rubble, he began to notice patterns… no, not patterns. They were words and symbols! Alchemy symbols!

Memories flooded back to him of where he had seen similar symbols and it clicked, "Guys! Stop fighting! I think I know a way to get us out of here!"

Sasori stopped just as he was about to have needles of poison-laced iron sand skewer into the Homunculus and Envy about to have his tail hit the Third Kazekage. Both turned to look at Ed with skeptical looks but it was Sasori to ask the question first.

"How exactly?"

Ed motioned to the rubble he was standing on, "I need to see as many of these as possible, but I think they hold the secret to our escape."

Envy let out a low grunt, retracting his almost attack, "I see… I'll be back."

With Envy on his search, Sasori returned his puppet to its scroll and went to the boys, "Are either of you injured?"

Ling took a step away from the redhead, "I'm fine. Just… Just keep away from me…" He tried to muster a glare, but just looking at the shorter male nearly made him shake in his shoes. Images came to his mind as he unwillingly began to imagine what it would be like to be turned into a puppet and the process it must take to mummify a body to the point where it was the equivalent to wood.

"I would provide a demonstration to how I've grown my collection, but I'm not allowed to harm non-Homunculus... unprovoked." Sasori casually responded to Ling's thoughts while he checked Ed.

"I wouldn't want to see such barbaric things anyway!" Ling protested.

"Careful what you say, brat." Sasori's eyes turned into that inhumane stare, no blinking or signs of life, "My art is part of an age-old tradition of jutsus that were simply made better. If you wish to discuss barbarians I would gladly entertain you with comparing the world of shinobi, filled with traditions and evolving technology to yours which seemingly lacks any signs of growth."

Ling reached forward and grabbed Sasori by the collar, "What did you say?!" He was surprised by how light the other man was, and how this same man wasn't even resisting being picked up and dangled in the air.

"Am I wrong? You country runs on the idea of allowing your ruler to have many children from other families which all need to fight and kill each other for a throne and then reproduce with women of the same families that you killed children from." Sasori tilted his head so he could look at the prince. Mentioning the fact that finding immortality for an aging emperor should go unmentioned as a ridiculous plan.

"That- that isn't how I plan on running things when I become emperor! I plan on making changes!"

"So you plan on not taking several wives, dooming the other clans to either fight for your hand or fall apart after many generations of traditions? How do you plan on reworking your government?" Sasori gripped Ling's wrist, squeezing hard enough to release the puppet master, "The great clans of the Five Great Nations realized this kind of practice was dangerous and stuck to one wife or husband. As far as I'm aware, even the rulers stick to a minimum of two wives, lest they fall apart.*"

Ed stupidly pushed himself between the two, nearly choking on the tension, "Okay! Stop it, you guys! If you want to argue about this more, let's wait until we get out of here first!"

"He has nothing to argue for." Sasori walked backward then turned around so he could read the slabs as Envy had already dropped a few on their little platform.

"Man, you humans fight over useless things." The green beast placed the final piece, "This is the last one I could find."

Sasori didn't listen to the brats talking to Envy, he was too busy memorizing the patterns and symbols. He watched Ed use blood to draw a transmutation circle and Envy open his mouth, showing off his Philosopher's stone. They all stood on the circle and Ed clapped his hand, slamming them down.

For once in Sasori's life, he was feeling something.

Ethereal hands stretched out as a giant eye formed in the center of the circle and their bodies began to transmute. White light engulfed them and Sasori could no longer see anyone else.

So he waited, waited for this all to be done with so he can get back to the Akatsuki and finish their mission. He didn't even need Alchemy, not with his art being as powerful as it was, he was only going along because he had no other choice.

" _Well, I was wondering when I would get to meet one of you… shinobi._ "

Sasori whipped around, realizing that the white he was seeing wasn't light from the transmutation anymore. He was in a void of pure white, the only color was a disturbingly large door and a… figure, of sorts.

" _Granted I was hoping to meet someone that I could actually test, you seem rather set in your ways. But no matter. A pleasure to meet you. I am the world-._ "

If Sasori was impressed, he didn't show it, "I am Akasuna No Sasori of the Sunagakure. Why am I supposed to care about this world?"

The being remained still for a moment, " _Let me finish. I am also known as God, or perhaps Truth. I am All, and I am also One-_."

"Is this the part of your speech where you inform me that you are also me?" Sasori again interrupted Truth's speech uncaringly.

" _My, you are a rude one. No, that must be left out for this greeting. You and your friends belong to someone else. Your immortal one belongs to someone I'd rather not speak to if I can avoid it. The same goes for your chakra, that is something I cannot touch even if I wished to take it away as it would kill you instantly_." The large grin on Truth's… face, never left him, " _No, I'm holding you back for the moment to ensure that you understand what will happen when you return to your home._ "

"We'll be giving you a gateway to our world if this conversation is going the way I believe it to be heading." Sasori guessed. He was getting impatient, "Can we hurry this up? I have a brat to educate and another brat to argue with." Technically speaking he had to do both for both brats.

" _Indeed, but my hold will only last for as long as there are alchemists in your world. Once the last of you die off I, too, will return to my world. I suppose, also, since a toll was paid with that Philosopher's stone that you should be allowed to see this…_ "

The door behind Sasori opened slowly and Truth continued talking, " _While I would like to speak with each of you shinobi, I sincerely doubt you'll seek me out. So do inform your comrades of my presence. Oh, and take your friend's deity with you when you go home, he's rather unpleasant._ "

Sasori didn't struggle when he was yanked through the door, he didn't show emotions when knowledge pounded into his head, but he decided right there that the Akatsuki would never, ever, give the Truth a reason to see them again.

xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

While Al tried his hardest to get information out of Gluttony through casual conversation, Deidara followed behind in mute silence. Every block or so and up until they reached the underground tunnels he's been dropping clay spiders. He was hoping that Hidan or Itachi -mostly the Uchiha- would notice them and follow the trail to where he was. It's not that he's helpless. On the contrary. Deidara would like to think that he was perfectly capable of killing off Gluttony by himself.

What he was afraid of was dealing with multiple Homunculus by himself and protecting Alphonse.

"Father is amazing! He made me, Envy, Lust, and all of the other Homunculus! And he's strong too!" Gluttony continued to ramble as if he was trying to befriend the people with him.

'This is not my day…' Deidara let out a sigh, "He must be pretty powerful, un."

Gluttony seemingly didn't notice the sarcasm, "Mhm! That he is!"

Deidara's eye twitched as he continued his walk, occasionally fiddling with Sasori's arm that he still carried and looking at the nervous panda clinging to Al's head. He already sensed the panda's owner and that asshole Scar heading this way, which brought minor comfort to him. At the very least he didn't have to think about their lives when he lets his art loose.

The trio stopped in front of a pair of massive double doors. Al stared straight forward, "So this is where your Father is?"

Gluttony nodded, "Mhm, that's right!" Reaching out, he pushed open the massive doors as if they weighed nothing and stepped inside.

Deidara examined the room, trying not to be disturbed by the vast arrays of pipes that snaked throughout the floor and walls. Near the center of the room where all the pipes begin is a throne-like chair and a desk with chemistry items resting on it. In all honesty, this place was not as bad as the bomber was expecting. He has honestly seen worse when raiding bases.

"Hello, father! I brought you a human sacrifice and an Akatsuki!" Gluttony threw his hands in the air in a friendly manner.

Al instantly began to panic, "Your father?! Where?! This is happening too fast!"

Deidara tapped Al's arm to get his attention, also grabbing the scrambling panda, "Calm down, un." Seriously, even he was starting to freak out from Al's unstable, teenage emotions.

"But how can I calm down?!" If Al had real lungs he would be hyperventilating right now, "And give her back, this isn't safe!" He took Xiao Mei back from Deidara and returning her to his shoulder.

"And who is this?" A man in white robes stood at the top of some stairs, looking at them blankly.

Deidara felt himself unconsciously starting to inch away from the stairs. Every sense in his body was telling him to stay away from what could only be described as an endless void of power residing in the form of a man. This was not normal even for shinobi standards, the only people he's heard even being remotely close to having such an intimidating aura were previous Kages. But this guy? Deidara didn't sense anything human-like from him.

"... Dad…?" Al breathed out the word so quietly that Deidara had to strain his ears to hear it.

'Dad? Oh for the love of art please don't tell me he's their father-'

Out of nowhere, Gluttony began screaming with blood spewing out of his body and mouth. His stomach broke open to reveal his hidden eye, which began to split open in the pupil. Gluttony threw himself around as the pain was too much for him to bare and in a painfully slow manner, Envy, Ed, Ling, and Sasori crawled out and collapsed on the ground.

"Brother?!" Al rushed over to Ed who was covered in Envy's melted skin.

"Sasori?!" Deidara went to the still puppet master who rested against Envy's leg, "Danna? Are you okay?! I have your arm, un."

"Give it here, now, Deidara." Sasori snatched up his arm the moment Deidara held it out and seamlessly reattached it, "I'll need to repair the linework later…" He looked at his partner with his neutral expression returning, but both could easily feel the relief that was washing over them.

"Well this is interesting," Everyone looked to see the man in the white robes approaching them, holding his chin in what could be described as a thinking pose, "You emerged from Gluttony's stomach… that's a first."

Ed let out a growl, "Hohenheim?"

Sasori's eyes narrowed as he began shoving Deidara lightly, "Brat… let's get out of here… now."

"What, why?" Deidara looked down at his partner. Something wasn't… wasn't right about him. His chakra signature was enough for the bomber to tell that this was Sasori, but he seems different now.

"We need to report to Konan as quickly as possible, and that requires we leave…" Sasori watched as the man recreated Alphonse's arm and healed Ed without the use of medical ninjutsu, "now."

"I think not, you two I would like to talk to." Without so much as lifting a finger, Father made the earth around the Akatsuki members crawl towards them, "Best not to struggle."

"Deidara, Sasori!" Ed clapped his hands and had rocks spike around the pair to keep the earth from moving for a moment, "Get off the ground! We gotta take this guy down so we can stop him!"

Deidara didn't waste any time in creating a clay hawk and pulling Sasori onto it, "We'll get him from above, un!"

Father was immediately interested in this as he sensed no alchemy being used, just like his children had reported. They were using a power source that did not come from the Gate or Truth but it was just as powerful, and almost… otherworldly. Not the same way as them being from another dimension as he theorized, but in another sense. He needed to feel this power first hand.

Ed and Al proceed to shoot out a series of alchemy based attacks at both Father and Envy who was attacking them now. But Father didn't seem phased by this if anything this was a minor inconvenience to his day with how bored his expression is. With an exasperated sigh, he took a step forward, red sparks shooting down towards his head.

Deidara had already prepared a C1 to test his jutsu on Father, "You know, up until that bit right there, I would have mistaken him for a human, un."

"He's as much of a human as Inuzuka's are cat lovers." Sasori half-attempted at a joke, "... use that."

Deidara looked at Sasori, then looked at his clay bomb that the redhead was looking at, "... We're talking when we get out."

"Shut up and do it, Deidara!"

Deidara raised an eyebrow, definitely spooked by Sasori's change in attitude but threw the bomb at Father anyway. Father didn't so much as flinch when the little clay bird landed in front of him and exploded, engulfing him in smoke and making all non-shinobi stop in their track and wait to see what happened.

Unlike with Ed's alchemy, this seemed to have been enough to singe Father's clothes, a baffled expression on his face as he looked at his soot-covered hands. He couldn't figure out what this energy was, and he didn't like that at all.

"Hm… this is troublesome… yet truly fascinating." Father looked up at the large clay bird in the air while returning his clothes to their original white. Sasori was staring him down but Deidara had his head turned towards the door, a grin forming on his lips.

"Found my trail, un?"

"Fire style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Envy quickly used his own body to shield Father from a massive ball of fire nearly engulfing the area. Sasori used his chakra strings to pull up Ed, Al, and Ling to keep them from getting burned while Gluttony was set ablaze. Sasori didn't let them go until after the fire settled.

In the doorway was Itachi, sharingan looming over the Homunculus when he finally looked up to the artist duo, "Hn. Konan already left Central under Bradley's orders. I'm in charge for now until we can meet up with her again." Deidara's shoulders slumping did not go unnoticed by the Uchiha.

Envy growled and moved away from Father, "Father, that's the one that burned Lust to the ground!"

"I see, and such a young lad too." Father glanced over at the Elric brothers and Envy took the hint. Without warning the humongous Homunculus pinned the brothers down while Gluttony tackled Ling down.

Envy chuckled when he noticed the Akatsuki were still, "Oh? Care what happens to these brats now? Here I thought you humans were cold-blooded killers, but once we find a weakness within you you're paralyzed, just like the rest."

"Envy, they are not standing still. Quite the opposite really." Father reached up and grabbed Itachi's wrist as the boy was about to stab him with a kunai, "You're under one of their illusions that Wrath spoke of." With a single twitch of his hand, Itachi's wrist broke with a sharp snap.

Itachi took a sharp breath but didn't allow any other noise to escape him. The pain was enough to break his genjutsu which revealed Deidara about to drop an unusually shaped doll onto Envy and Sasori about to summon his Third Kazekage puppet. The artist duo jumped away the moment they were caught, the blond shoving the doll back into his pouch while Sasori retracted his scroll back up his sleeve. Father released Itachi and he body flickered to his teammates, breathing heavily to resist the urge to nurse his wound in the middle of battle.

They got cocky, plain and simple. Father was caught under the genjutsu, no one can stop a genjutsu without chakra. But somehow he was able to realize that he was under the illusion and then figure out where Itachi was. And that was the part the three could not figure out.

"Not so tough now are you, Akatsuki?" Envy taunted like he himself wasn't also under the genjutsu, "You may be able to put us under those illusions of yours, but you're no gods. You'll never be able to overpower Father with tricks like that. That's something that never fails to amuse me with you pathetic humans, you get a little bit of power and you suddenly think you're greater than gods, but you're not. You're insignificant bugs, crawling along in hopes of survival and destroying things to make it better for yourselves."

"That's enough," Father scolded, "You talk too much, Envy."

Envy deflated instantly, "Oh, sorry."

Father's gaze went to Ling, "You seem useful, I can always use another pawn…" He raised a finger to his forehead and an eye split open from it. Red liquid dripped from the eye and created a Philosopher's stone that landed in Father's hand with a soft plop.

"You're really going to do that?" Envy questioned.

Ed tensed up, "Do what?"

"He's making another Homunculus. The stone is added to the bloodstream and if it's able to merge then he will become a Homunculus, if not… he will die."

Ed's eyes widened and he looked to the Akatsuki, "Stop them! No one is holding you down! Stop this from happening!"

"Ed, shut up!" Ling shouted at the younger teen, "I've come too far and now a Philosopher's stone, the key to immortality is being offered to me on a silver platter!" He glared at the Akatsuki, "Do not interfere!"

Deidara leaned towards Itachi, "If this works, how does Ling becoming a Homunculus effect our orders?"

"They don't." Sasori answered for the Uchiha, "If he attacks us, we'll have no choice but to kill him."

"This is a new development… but let's see if your body is as willing as your mind." Tilting his hand, Father allowed the stone to land on a cut on Ling's cheek. The liquid stone instantly went into the cut and Ling's body began convulsing as it fought against the stone, yelling at the pain.

The screaming and constant break down and rebuild of his body lasted for a solid minute when Ling finally stopped screaming, an evil smirk plastered against his face, "Whoo, that was fun…" The voice that came out Ling's mouth was deeper compared to the princes, and definitely familiar.

Ed gulped, "Ling…?"

"Huh?" Ling looks to Ed in confusion, but the smirk quickly returned, "Oh, you mean the guy I just took over? Nah, my name's Greed."

Itachi faintly sensed Scar was close, too close and noticed the attention had left them, "...Hn..." His body broke into dozens of crows that quickly flew out. Before Father or any of the Homunculus had a chance to respond, the artist duo fled with. While Deidara was itching for a fight, Sasori dragged his partner along.

Naturally, Deidara was annoyed, but he understood why there was a need to retreat. They collected enough data about Father to report to Konan and plan, but they also needed to tend to Itachi's broken wrist. But Deidara felt something as he ran, and that feeling came from a certain hand gripping his wrist to keep him moving.

Sasori's hands were shaking, almost human-like as well, but he was still a puppet.

The Akatsuki somehow managed to avoid Scar and Mei on their way escaping, not really caring for the multitudes of chimera that still roamed the sewers. They needed to move fast.

Reaching their house, Sasori released Deidara to bandage up Itachi's wrist. Hidan was in his room, presumably either asleep or praying based on how oddly quiet it was. No one was keen on bothering him at this particular moment.

Deidara slumped into a chair, "Okay, Danna, what the hell is going on with you, un?"

The redhead didn't meet his partner's eye, "There is nothing going on, why do you ask?"

"You're a nervous wreck! In all my years knowing you, I have never seen you lose your composure if you even have one to begin with!" Deidara leaned forward, "What happened in Gluttony's stomach that's making you act like this, un?"

"I agree with Deidara," Itachi fiddled with his bandages and doing minor pressure tests, "what happened?"

Sasori looked at the two youngers in front of him, slowly taking off his Akatsuki cloak so he could do repairs on his arm, "... We did a human transmutation in order to get out, using Envy's stone. It's the only reason why none of us had to pay a toll."

"A toll?" Deidara parroted.

"I met this world's equivalent to a god. It calls itself Truth and it controls a massive door… or gate, and I was pulled in there and I saw…" Sasori shook his head, "Knowledge."

Both Deidara and Itachi remained quiet, the blond motioning Sasori to continue, "I saw things that no one should ever see, and I saw truths that no one wants to believe. Even I have to admit that it was… fascinating yet terrifying." Sasori blinked once, curiosity taking the best of him and he clapped his hands and laid them on Itachi's bandaged arm without a transmutation circle. The clips on the bandages changed shape, thus providing a stronger hold.

"And, your conclusion?" Itachi pressed on. Whatever Sasori saw or learned from this Truth could benefit their mission, or at least give the Akatsuki a reason to try and get to the Gate again. Being able to transmute like this would give them advantages in battle.

"For reasons besides being completely inconvenient, we should never use human transmutations to bring someone back to life… ever. I will personally kill anyone that tries. That knowledge is… it's something no one should see, even with the given ability to use alchemy whenever one wishes…"

Nevermind then.

* * *

 ** **Sidestory #4: Fuel for the Fire (Takes place that same night)****

With the stress of the day finally reaching its end and with the sun setting on the horizon, Riza Hawkeye finally took the time to enjoy a nice, warm shower. Of course, that feeling is only momentary while lathering her hair. She's being transferred to work under Fuhrer Bradley, she's the hostage to keep the Colonel under control and nothing can measure the shame she feels.

"Just need to do my duty and don't give the Colonel reason to worry… hm?" Riza snapped her head towards the direction of the bathroom door when she heard Black Hayate barking, 'Weird, he doesn't usually bark like that but he must have seen a bird or something.'

While Riza rinses off and turns off the water, she realized that Black Hayate had stopped barking out of nowhere, and it's quiet, too quiet for her liking. Cautiously, she wrapped a towel around her hair and her body, grabbing the pistol she keeps under her sink and stepped out of the room.

"Whoever it is, make your presence known or I will shoot." Riza scanned the main room when she saw movement on the couch, which made her turn to it with her gun ready to fire.

"My apologies for coming here at a bad time, you left the door unlocked." Sitting on the couch was Itachi, a hand pressed firmly over his eyes and the other hand resting uselessly on his side. Right under that arm was Black Hayate, happily sleeping with his body pressed against the teen's leg, "I wanted to talk to you, I didn't expect you to come out like that."

Riza didn't move for a moment, too shocked to register the fact that she actually left her door unlocked and that Black Hayate was perfectly fine with a stranger in her apartment. Weird, she could have sworn her door was locked when she took her shower. She shook her head to regain her composure, "Don't move. I'll be back out when I'm dressed."

"Please."

She raised an eyebrow at how relieved Itachi sounded and quickly retreated into her bedroom. Grabbing a random long-sleeve and pants from her dresser, she got dressed and returned to the main room where Itachi was still covering his eyes. She took this moment to examine the teen. His shoes were absent and are instead by the door facing the exit and his cloak was folded neatly under Black Hayate. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought he was just a well-mannered young man and not a mercenary, "You can look now, I'm decent."

Itachi hesitated for a moment, but eventually slowly removed his hand from his eyes, "Again, my apologies for entering without permission."

Riza blinked, heading to the kitchen to make some warm drinks for herself and her unsuspecting guest, "I'm just going to assume you shinobi do this all the time to each other and just call it a cultural difference. What did you want to talk about… alone?" She noted that none of his teammates are in the room with him, and his eyes are black… so she's not under an illusion…

Why was he here exactly?

Itachi got up, startling the little husky next to him awake and he headed for the table, "I wanted to talk about- ah, thank you," He accepted the mug of coffee with a nod, "I wanted to talk about Mustang's alchemy."

As expected, Riza glared at the topic. She scanned the boy once again, and her eyes locked onto the Uchiha's right hand which was bandaged at the wrist, "You broke your wrist… how?"

"Nothing important for the moment, it will heal." Itachi deflected the question, "Please, Miss. Hawkeye, I don't have much time."

'There's a hidden meaning behind that phrase…' Riza took a long sip of her coffee, "What about the Colonel's alchemy?"

"I wish to learn it, as you know my jutsu specializes in fire," He held in a cringe when the woman flinched, "I… want to be able to create fire without wasting my chakra."

"Uh huh… and what makes you think I know how it works?"

"His mentor was your father." Itachi answered smoothly, "Sasori is skilled in looking up the past. We've been investigating every State Alchemist of interest since Konan became a State Alchemist, that includes Colonel Mustang." His eyes shifted to when he heard Riza reach for her gun and he bowed his head, "Please believe me when I say that I don't want to learn the flame alchemy for the sake of the Akatsuki.""Well sorry to disappoint you, but I don't believe you in the slightest."

Riza took another sip of her drink, "I don't usually make any deals without the Colonel being present, but since I'm no longer working under him I need to make my own choices. The flame alchemy is a high price to pay… even then most of the information was destroyed. It's still dangerous to use."

"I can improvise with what little information you can give me… what do you want?" Itachi tilted his head politely.

"I want to know why a kid like you is in the Akatsuki and why you want to learn flame alchemy. I also want to be able to tell the Colonel without repercussions from you." She was expecting Itachi to negotiate her terms, but she was shocked to see Itachi's eyes dull in what could only be described as defeated.

"I only request that no one else learns, not my comrades, not other members of the military… no one." Itachi waited for Riza to nod, "... Remember that boy I turned into when we captured Gluttony?" Another nod, "That… was my younger brother, Sasuke."

"I thought he looked related to you, what's the story?"

And so, Itachi spend the next hour retelling the story of the Uchiha's tension within Konoha, how he was a double agent, and how he had to kill his entire clan to prevent a war. He spoke of the mangekyou sharingan, the death of his best friend Shisui, and the deal he made to keep Sasuke safe in the village. Riza's drink became ice cold by the time Itachi finished his story, noting that he must have left some details since he never said who gave the order to him. She didn't speak a word while Itachi collected himself, looking at her ceiling with a blank expression.

"I'm dying of an unknown disease… and when I die, I have to have Sasuke be the one to kill me, to restore the clan's honor."

Riza shot to her feet, "Are you insane?! You want your brother to kill you?!"

"Sasuke… has been kept in the dark, and I plan on keeping it like that. He doesn't need to know… but there is a man in the Akatsuki who will want to take advantage of my death. His name is Madara, and I want to learn flame alchemy… so that I can pass it onto my little brother when he takes my eyes for himself, and keep Madara from controlling him."

"But dying for the sake of your clan?! Why not swap eyes between each other, and use that for good?!" Riza stood up, slamming her hands on the table, "Are you crazy? If what you are saying is true then why not work together?!"

"I don't have any other choice. There is someone in Konoha who is just as dangerous and if word gets out about the Uchiha clan's coup, then it would cause an all-out civil war between the village and the clans." He looked at her dead in the eyes, "If Sasuke learns the truth, then I fear he will turn his attention to take revenge on Konoha."

Riza raised a hand to cover her mouth as sweat rolled down her face. This was insane. She had seen how brothers like Ed and Al work together to fix a common problem, staying by each other's side no matter what. This… this was just a suicide mission where one sibling took all the burden to protect the other!

"Please understand this, if there was another way, I would take it." That caught Riza's attention, "But I am dying, my eyes are speeding up the process… I want to protect Sasuke, above all else… and learning flame alchemy…-"

"It'll slow down the progress of your disease." Riza finished for him, watching as Itachi once again bowed his head, "... Alright. I can't guarantee you'll learn anything but-" she turned around with her back facing him, "I can't let you leave knowing that I could help extend your life."

"Thank you, I- uh… um…" Itachi quickly smacked a hand over his eyes when Riza began to lift up her shirt, "L-Lieutenant, wh-what exactly are you doing?"

"The notes exist as a tattoo on my back, the Colonel burned a part of it so no one can steal the information and use it for war." She looked over her shoulder, smirking at how modest Itachi was being. She took her shirt and pressed it against her chest to at least give the teen some peace, "Come on, I'm covered in the front and you can only see my back."

Again, Itachi hesitated to look, but he removed his hand and politely kept his eyes locked onto her back. Thankfully years of training and control made this easier, and he activated his sharingan to memorize the patterns, "He kept most of it intact."

Riza nodded, "Well, it's enough to where most alchemists are unable to understand what the notes are for-"

"I got it, thank you for your time." Itachi bowed lowly when Riza turned her head at him again, "The notes are simpler than I thought, and I can fill in the blanks myself… I promise that I will only use this in defending others."

"... Yeah… I'll hold you up to your word." She slipped on her shirt when Itachi had his back facing her and he headed for the door, "Oh, Itachi?""Hm?""Two things. First: Don't enter a woman's apartment without knocking, I nearly shot you."

The Uchiha let out a soft chuckle, "I will remember that."

"And second…" She gave the teen a soft smile, "I can tell you have a lot on your chest… you're welcomed here again if you want to chat." Her face didn't change when Itachi's usually stoic expression turned into one of surprise, "And I think the Elric brothers would like to hear about this, they know a thing or two about being brothers."

"I-" Itachi stumbled with his words. For once, The Uchiha Itachi, was speechless, "Thank you." Without another word, Itachi put on his shoes and cloak, unlocked the front door and left the apartment, leaving Riza alone with her thoughts.

And thinking she did. Her eyes focused on her door, then to the open window behind her couch, "Wait a second… my door was locked!"

* * *

 **Ooooooo, I'm so excited, we're almost to Briggs! Within the next couple chapters I will include a side story about Konan's introduction to Briggs and how she's integrated herself into the community. Also, this side story was way more serious than intended, but I felt like it made the most sense.**

 **I do have plans on having maybe another Akatsuki member meet Truth, it really depends on how the plot rolls. And yes, I've established that while Father will fall under genjutsus, that does not mean he is affected by them. Guess Itachi will have to try a little harder to get to him.**

 ***Regarding Sasori's talk with Ling about Xing: I notice the fanfiction community pokes fun at the whole "Oh, give immortality to the current emperor, that'll surely make me emperor!" but no one addresses the issues with their culture as a whole. Not once does Ling ever mention that he's going to reform the clan's system besides accepting all of the families in the final episode. Their way of picking an heir is very Game of Thrones-like and since we only see Naruto characters with one spouse at all times, I'm to assume that the Naruto world is mostly monogamy. Yes, I am well aware that Xing is based on ancient China, where the emperors of China had multiple wives; this does not excuse the fact that unless Ling plans on marrying only one or two women, his children will have to fight all over again to get the throne. Sasori really only pointed this out because Ling insulted his art, otherwise he wouldn't give a shit.**

 **As always, reviews are loved and I will see you all in the next chapter where the Akatsuki will most likely be heading out to Briggs if I have my timelines right. Depends on how things play out.**

 **Bye!**


	18. Lots of Snow

**Hey guys! Sorry that updates are not as frequent as they use to be, school has really taken up most of my time and muses were running on fumes for a time. We're finally getting to my favorite part of the FMAB anime so hopefully that will encourage me to get working on the fic more.**

 **Thank you guys for the faves, follows and reviews and just the general support everyone gives!**

 **BloodPokemon101: Ohhhhh, I didn't think about putting Envy in Tsukiyomi, it really depends on how I approach future encounters. I can't have Itachi use his eyes willy-nilly since he's going blind anyway, but definitely expect someone to be put under it eventually.**

 **princessbinas: The Edo Tensei isn't going to be mentioned much anymore, at least not in conversations as the Akatsuki's made it clear that they don't have much intention of using it. (Not to mention as far as I can tell, no one outside of Orochimaru's group knows how to use it)**

 **Greer123: Happy New Year! And yeah, I wasn't sure how much of a problem Father would be for the Akatsuki, but then I remembered that he's pretty much a more interesting Kaguya and… no offence to the Akatsuki, I love 'em, but they're five year olds children compared to a flippen Goddess. Even with Itachi there their chances of winning is slim to none.**

 **PSplinter09: Nope, I don't have any intention of having the reverse happen.**

 **Warning: Hidan's mouth, minor violence, girl power.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own FMAB or Naruto, I wish I owned FMAB so I could make a certain character here have more screen time.**

* * *

For several days, the Akatsuki kept their heads low. Without Konan being around to use her military status to keep eyes off of them, there always seemed to be soldiers nearby. Sasori literally locked himself in his room, using alchemy to seal the door and permanently turning the windows into walls. Deidara attempted to get his partner to step out and talk to them about the Gate but gave up after three days of no response.

A full week went by when Hidan stormed into the house after work, "Fucking shit this military is full of insane bastards!" Ripping off his cloak, he made a beeline for the kitchen sink to wash his sweat covered face which considering the blood on his body was the cleanest part of him.

"Welcome back, Hidan, un." Deidara sat at the kitchen table, using alchemy to create various shapes with his clay, "What happened?"

"Okay, remember that bastard Kimblee what you told us about? The guy who likes to blow shit up?"

"Yeah?" Deidara responded with a raised eyebrow, it took him a second to remember who the hell Hidan was talking about, "Oh, that guy!"

"Yeah, he got released today! Our ol' buddy 'Livius' picked him up!" Hidan discarded the hand-towel back into the sink, much to Itachi's disgust as it had blood on it, "Tricked my boss into thinking he was gonna blow him up with a watch bomb."

"Do you have any ideas where he may be going?" Itachi questioned, using his pointer and thumb to remove the towel and throw it in the trash bin.

"I don't know and I don't fucking care!" Hidan responded with a growl, "None of my business, my bet he's going after Scar. Now, I'm gonna shower!" With that, he left the room to clean up.

Deidara and Itachi exchanged looks. Neither one of them knew where Scar was heading, let alone his companions. They haven't spoken to the Elric brothers since the incident with Father and the Homunculus, preferring to keep their distance until needed. But this news may need them to play their cards differently, especially if someone with unlimited explosive power was walking around freely.

"Deidara, you've been home all day, have you heard anything from Konan?" Itachi made light talk while preparing to make dinner, pleased that the house was spotless save for the clay-filled mess on the table.

Noticing Itachi's struggling to work the kitchen with one hand, Deidara hopped to his feet and began helping prepare the rice, "Not yet, I tried to send a bird to where I believed Briggs was, but it didn't make it, un…"

"It froze on the way?"

"No, it blew up randomly." Deidara reached out to grab the knife Itachi was holding as it fell out of his hand, "Okay, sit your butt down, I'm cooking, un."

But Itachi didn't move, "What do you mean it blew up? I thought you could control if your bombs exploded or not?" He only moved when Deidara not only got in his personal space but then proceed to shove him out of the way with a hip bump and a shove from the blond's leg.

"I think something hit it. Unlike you, I don't have the ability to see through my art…" Deidara scowled as he admitted that one, simple flaw about his art, "I'm sure if she wanted to contact us, she wouldn't out of the risk of it being intercepted, un."

"Hn…"

Neither one dwells in the conversation for much longer.

xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

 _Knock knock knock_

Hidan's pink eyes snapped open that following morning, having chosen to sleep on the couch after his shower. A low growl escaped his lips but he inhaled slowly to hold in his anger. Honestly, his job as an executioner made him let out plenty of pent up frustrations and the lack of Kakuzu made his mood even brighter.

'Just ignore it Hidan, you had a long day yesterday. If you ignore them, they will go the fuck away-'

 _Knock knock knock… knock_

No one could ever pinpoint when Hidan went from the couch to the door, but here he was, throwing open the door with a sour expression on his face, "Go the fuck away- oh, it's you two."

Ed reclined backward out of pure shock. He hasn't seen Hidan since the guy lost his head, but it seems he was doing just fine with himself, "Um… hi?"

"Yeah, hi, whatever." Hidan leaned back, looking into the hallway, "Oh good, the Uchiha is awake. Oi! The brothers are fucking here!"

"Thank you for the announcement, Hidan. I can take care of this." The brothers flinched when a hand shot out, grabbing Hidan by the face and pulling him away -though not without the struggling and swearing- and taking his place was Itachi. The Uchiha, seemingly dropping formalities, rested his good arm against the doorframe, "May we help you?"

"We wanted to know if you wanted to come with us to Briggs!" Al responded quickly and noticing how Itachi's attention was grabbed instantly, "We're looking for Mei and we believe she's traveling north. We need her to learn alkahestry."

"Yeah, what Al said." Ed let out a sigh, "We also know that Konan is there, so it was only polite to extend the invitation to you guys as well."

"... Yes, we will accompany you two. I see you're already packed." Itachi motioned his head to Ed's suitcase, "Come inside, I'll alert the other Akatsuki."

The brothers cautiously entered the house, half expecting a corpse to be sitting in the corner or something of that nature. Instead, they were pleasantly disappointed to find the house didn't look lived in. Spotless furniture, no dirty dishes, the only indication that people live in here were the shoes at the doorway and some of the shinobi's kunai resting innocently on the counter.

Ed shuffled over to a chair, sitting down with his hands pressed against his lap while Hidan stared the two down with toast in his mouth and a proud smirk as he eyed the hallway. With a small skip in his step, Hidan went down the hallway and vanished from sight. Muffled shouting from another room resulted in a disgruntled, bed-headed -but fully dressed- Deidara to be dragged out into the main room with slowly shuffling feet. Hidan was walking behind him, chuckling through his breakfast.

"You are soooo lucky I left my clay in the living room, un." Deidara let out a yawn, waving at the brothers, "I'll go get Danna." With that, he vanished back into the hallway and the sound of persistent banging of a door was soon heard.

"You do that." Itachi humored the blonde to minimize future complaints, "So… Edward, Alphonse, what should we do to prepare for Briggs?"

"Um…" Ed paused, looking at Itachi's attire, "Dress warmly I guess? It's going to be cold. I didn't expect you guys to agree so quickly."

"That's because we've grown tired of the military breathing down our necks, and without Konan around we do not have the same level of freedom." Itachi could almost feel the next question arise, "We can easily go to and from buildings without being caught, but all it takes is one small mistake."

"We're going to Briggs, un."

Ed eyes snapping to the hallway when he heard alchemy buzzing and a door flying open, literally. Seems whoever used that room associated "going to Briggs" with "we're never coming back here, kick the door down" because that door was nothing but chunks of wood now. Ed stretched his neck out to watch Sasori step out of the room, stone-faced and all but glaring at his partner. This was new, the last he had seen Sasori was in that room with Father after getting out of Gluttony's stomach.

Wait… Gluttony's stomach.

"Seems you figured it out." Ed jumped in his seat since he forgot the Uchiha was right there, "Sasori saw this Truth character and it's gotten to him more than he lets on."

"Yeah…" Ed responded quietly, "I don't blame him for reacting like that, especially since he's…" The blonde stopped talking when Sasori suddenly snapped his head to glare at him, "Nevermind."

"Don't worry, we know what Sasori really is." Itachi got up to his feet, wincing when he accidentally put pressure on his injured hand, "What time do you want us to meet you at the train?"

Ed looked at the clock hanging on the wall, "In two hours, roughly? I think that should give you enough time to prepare." With that, Ed also got up with Al and left the house knowing that they wouldn't be much help in getting the Akatsuki prepared.

Hidan, who had seemingly vanished, poked his head out of a different room cautiously, "Are the little shits gone?" He only stepped out when his comrades nodded, "Thank Jashin! Oh, I grabbed our shit already. It's all in my scroll with my weapons."

Three collective eyebrows rose at that, all directed at the Jashinist.

"What? Do you fuckers think we're going to come back to this place? Oh no, at the rate we're going, the next time we show up at Central I'm betting we'll be at war with them."

That… the others had nothing to say against that statement. They had no reason to work with Central's military anymore, with the exception being Colonel Mustang and his allies. But how exactly would they make their attack?

The men remained quiet during their final shopping trip, all of them contemplating various forms of murder; or in Itachi's case, how to avoid it. Understanding that Briggs may as well be as cold as the Land Of Snow back when it was still winter, their main priority was warm clothes that could be hidden under their cloaks. Their minimal conversations were mostly to keep the soldiers -disguised as civilians- that were spying on them off their backs.

"Danna, do you think I should wear gloves, un?"

"I don't need you losing your fingers, yes."

"Oi, blondie! Can you fucking explain to me why all of these hats have fucking pom-poms on them?!"

"That's… the women's section, Hidan, un…"

"Oh shit, you're right."

Honestly, all this was doing was making the nearby soldiers think the Akatsuki was full of idiots.

With their clothing in order, the shinobi went to the train station a couple of hours later where the brothers waited for them. Ed, curious as he was, noticed the lack of luggage on any of them, "Where do you keep your stuff exactly?"

Without a word, Itachi produced a scroll for Ed to look at for a second before retracting it back up his sleeve, "It's harder for thieves to accidentally get their hands on something that shouldn't be touched." Heaven forbid someone accidentally cuts themselves on Hidan's scythe. Or worse, something that belongs to Sasori.

"That makes sense…" Al said quietly, jolting when the train whistled, "Oh! Brother, the train is boarding!"

"Briggs, here we come!" Ed reached down and picked up his suitcase, rushing to the train with his entourage.

xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

"How long has it been since we've seen snow, un?" Deidara asked as he cautiously walked on the snow. The familiar crunch under his feet as he took steps in the untouched whiteness reminded him of his childhood, visiting the Land of Snow with old man Onoki for some mission. It's weird, that such a simple thing like snow even made killers like Deidara and Hidan stare at the grey sky in relaxed bliss.

Itachi hummed softly in response, more interested in watching the brothers playfully run around and enjoying the cold. There wasn't much to enjoy the snow for. It was just a white canvas. It made it easier to see where the blood of your enemies splattered when you sliced them open and-

"Hey! We're going to find something to eat then we'll head out to the fort, you coming?" Ed waved at the Akatsuki, still grinning and unaware that he pulled Itachi out of a dark place in his mind.

"Yes." The Uchiha answered for the others, following Ed around as they wandered aimlessly. They all received stares. Which was to be expected considering Alphonse was a suit of armor and the Akatsuki stuck to their cloaks over their winter garb. The only normal one was Ed of all people.

The group ate at a small restaurant where they met with a man who was willing to give the kids a ride in his cart. He was skeptical of the shinobi's claim to be able to keep up on foot but didn't question it when the Elric brothers reassured the man that they were fine. Settling in the cart, Ed occasionally looked at his surroundings. Blankets and blankets of untouched snow and every tree was an old pine. It was like stepping into a painting, down to the oddly peaceful blue poking through the greying clouds.

It would be more entrancing if it wasn't for the fact that the Akatsuki were not leaving any footprints.

Indeed, when Ed rubbed his eyes to do a double-take, there was a significant lack of footprints. His focus remained locked onto the sets of feet easily keeping up with them when he spotted something blue and glowing on the bottom of their shoes. It was a "blink once and you'll miss it" kind of thing because when Ed closed his eyes for that split second the glow was gone. Eyes trailing up, he saw Deidara and Hidan were smirking at him like Colonel would when he was about to make a height joke. Great, these assholes were messing with him!

An hour into the ride, Ed let out a sneeze.

"Are you catching a cold?" Al commented with minor concern.

"Oh, I'm cold alright, that's Briggs for ya." Ed sniffled and shivered, obviously, he didn't dress warm enough like he had advised the Akatsuki.

The cart-owner stopped to let the boys off. The things he was saying instantly caught the shinobi's attention. Military grounds, not having automail is a good thing, stay on the roads.

Hm… interesting indeed.

"Edward," Itachi tapped on Ed's shoulder, "what birds might be native here?"

"What? Um… snowy owls I guess?" Ed shrugged at his guess, "Why?"

"Deidara, would you keep an eye on what will be ahead?"

"Sure, I'll drop by if I see anything up ahead, un." Deidara was already midway making a bird, grabbing some rock under the snow he used alchemy to combine the rocks into the clay. Poofing into rideable size, the bird resembled a large snowy owl, the rocks giving it the distinct patterns.

"I'll never get used to the fact you can do that…" Ed mumbled while the older blond jumped onto the owl and flew off, "Wait, why can't we also ride on it?"

"Safety." Itachi responded, always with the short answers. A glare from the shortie made a patient sigh escape his nose, "If it gets shot down by Fort Briggs' men, then we have a risk of you two getting injured… well, Edward being injured." A loud smack was heard as Itachi's arm instinctively smacked Hidan on the face when the albino snickered.

"Fuck you, Uchiha."

Ed rose an eyebrow, "Wow… you guys think ahead of everything, huh?"

"Hn."

The three remaining Akatsuki members made a formation around the brothers, Sasori on the left, Hidan on the right and Itachi at the rear. Since Deidara was up ahead there wasn't a need to waste someone being ahead and the brothers worked as their military face. That is, until a few hours later when a blizzard kicked up.

Ed was freezing, the snow made it impossible to see and they lost sight of Deidara a while ago. It was a good thing the Akatsuki still wore their cloaks so Ed just had to look for the red clouds. But man, was he jealous of Al and Sasori for not being able to feel the cold at all- wait, why is Hidan the only one shivering with him?

Looking over his shoulder, Itachi was calmly following. At most, the blizzard was a minor inconvenience to the man as his eyes occasionally squinted when the wind blew in his direction, "How the hell are you not cold?!"

"Chakra comes in different elements and mine is fire. My clan has a natural resistance to the cold weather as a result." To prove his point, Itachi flared his chakra and had to do a little hop because all the snow around him melted instantly. He withheld a chuckle when Ed and Hidan instantly began to inch closer to him.

"Gah," Even with the sudden warmth behind him, Ed was still freezing, "How did teacher survive a month out here?"

"There's no way she survived this!" Al protested, noting that his brother was barely able to walk even with the extra fur lining of his coat.

"Well, she did say she fought a bear once…"

"The bears out here are 15 feet tall!"

"Something's coming." Sasori's voice was what brought them out of their potential argument. Well, that and the heavy footsteps behind them.

A looming, dark figure stood there intimidatingly with glowing red eyes. It was enough to send the brothers screaming about a bear and the Akatsuki into defence mode.

The figure, which was soon realized to just be a really tall man, aimed for Itachi with his mechanical arm. However, with that large size was a decrease in speed, allowing Itachi to easily maneuver around the attack, "We're not your enemies."

"Sure, that's what they all say!" The man grinned, dodging Ed's strike from his bladed arm, "You're pretty fast, even with that mediocre automail!"

"Mediocre?! You're the one with the tacky automail!"

Okay, this was getting ridiculous. Sasori could feel the urge to twitch his eye when he raised his hand out. One moment, the strange man was raising his arm to swing down at Ed again, the next he was frozen in place, eyes wide with confusion.

"Nice job, Sasori!" Ed grinned widely, clapping his hands and placing them on the man's automail… only for it to fail, "What the hell?! This stuff is made of iron, isn't it?!"

"End this ridiculous scuffle you damn brats." The puppet master demanded, "Everyone hiding in the snow can come out, we know you're there."

Hidan groaned when five other men approached them, completely covered and guns pointed at them, "Fuck I don't want another bullet in my head again."

With the fight halting, so did the blizzard. In its place was a massive wall of pure metal, something that even left the Akatsuki impressed as the only village that readily used metal for structures was, ironically, Amegakure. With a look from Itachi, Sasori released his invisible hold on the man and mimicked everyone's "I surrender" pose.

"Buccaneer!" A female voice boomed out from the top of the wall, "Who are they?"

The newly dubbed Buccaneer straightened up, "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were there General Armstrong!"

Itachi looked up along with everyone else and saw a woman even he had to admit looked intimidating. Long blond hair flew to the side with the wind and her hands rested on a sword like it was a very sharp cane. On her right was a dark-skinned male with white hair, must be Ishvalan if Itachi had to put a guess on his heritage. The two were looking at them like you would rats in a kitchen, a complete and utter waste of valuable time. Itachi could hear the brothers exchange their disbelief that this was Major Armstrong's sibling, Olivier Armstrong.

"Damn, you don't see a woman like that often…" Itachi gave Hidan a glare, thankfully the Jashinist had his voice low when he spoke and it seems like none of the soldiers heard him.

"My name is Edward Elric, I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist! Major Armstrong sent us here to meet with the general in charge of this post." Ed kept a brave face as he introduced himself, usually saying his title allowed him to get away with everything… usually.

"Search them." Olivier ordered and the men got to work pawing at the brothers, saving the Akatsuki for last, "Anyone can claim they're someone famous, and who are the three with you?"

"They're mine, Major General."

To the relief of both the brothers and the Akatsuki, Konan stepped out to the balcony. Her cloak was replaced with a fur-lined trench coat that was almost identical to the blond woman, thicker leggings and military-grade combat boots were also on her person. The two women exchanged looks, to which made Olivier smirked, "And how do we know they're actually yours?"

Not once removing her gaze from the Major General, Konan stuck an arm out and snapped her fingers. Like uncoiled springs, the Akatsuki men rushed past the Briggs soldiers, ignoring their shouting and ran up the metallic walls. To put a good show, the three swallowed their pride and kneeled in front of their temporary boss. Out of nowhere, a rush of red, black and yellow came down from the sky, and Deidara soon joined the group and startling the hell out of not only the brothers but some of the Briggs' soldiers as well.

"Where the hell were you when we got attacked?!" Ed shouted, but of course, he received no response, "Hey, Konan! Can you vouch for us too?"

"If you are indeed part of the military, you don't need to be vouched!" Olivier snapped at Ed before looking back at Konan with approval, "I'll want to test your boys out later, they can go in."

"You're too generous." That wasn't sarcasm, it wasn't even gratitude, it was a simple fact. Konan gave one last look at the brothers, her expression blank and she walked back inside with her men in tow just in time for Olivier to receive the letter from Major Armstrong.

Once inside, Hidan spoke first, "Okay, why the fuck have you not call us the entire week?!"

"I was busy earning the general's trust." Konan answered, "This place is more organized than Central, and the military code is more on the lines of shinobi than I was expecting. Everyone fits in here like a well-oiled machine." She reaches up to rub her face slightly, "Who's idea was it to bring Ed and Al here?"

Itachi let out a sigh he didn't know he was holding, "They invited us. I understand you wanted us to stay in Central, however, the military was spying our every move and refused access to many of their facilities."

"Right…" Konan let out a breath, "well, with the pace I'm going, Briggs may become the allies we need. Olivier isn't the biggest fan of Fuhrer Bradley and only cares about her men and the Armstrong name."

Deidara tilted his head, "You're on a first-name basis with her, un?"

"It's a long story." Konan waved off the question, "We have a mutual understanding for each other, and your display of discipline may have put us in her good grace for the long run. She values strength and resilience."

Something about this wasn't sinking in right with Itachi, "How much did you tell her about us, the Akatsuki?"

Konan stopped, and the Akatsuki stopped. The woman turned on her heel to examine her men. Deidara's hair had frost stuck to the ends of the fringes, Hidan was still shivering from being in the cold, Sasori was… off, at least in her opinion. The only one that was remotely normal was Itachi, and even he had a small cast on his wrist. She should have taken them with her, or contact them at least at one point but she couldn't trust that someone would intercept the call… but to Itachi's question…

"Everything. I told her everything."

* * *

 **YAAAAASSSSSSSSS we're in Briggs with Olivier in the game! Ahem, sorry, she is my favorite female character and even though I am a straight female myself, Olivier is my anime waifu. I can't help it, she's terrifying and strong.**

 **I plan on writing a side story next chapter to show Konan's first week at Briggs along with how she earned Olivier's trust… I'm gonna have fun letting these two women work together… RIP Central.**

 **As always, reviews are loved and I will see you guys in the next chapter.**

 **Bye!**


	19. Girl Power

**Hey everyone, been a while. I'm sorry that these updates are so infrequent now, but with school there really isn't much I can do about it. But this is a chapter I've been excited to write for a while and it's finally finished!**

 **Thank you guys for the faves, follows and reviews, I really appreciate the ongoing support!**

 **princessbinas: Hidan can actually control his actions usually, it's his mouth that tends to get him trouble half of the time.**

 **guest reviewer: I do plan on delving more into the Akatsuki's relationship with the Briggs soldiers more in future chapters, this one is more of an introduction to everything. The anime and manga throw everything in our faces pretty fast so I'll be trying to pace things out.**

 **ShadeFireDragon: Thanks for the cookie! Glad that you're enjoying the fic!**

 **Warning: Violence, Hidan's mouth, girl power, tanks, child endangerment (I mean, it's the Elric brothers, they're always in danger)**

 **Dislcaimer: I do not own Naruto or FMAB**

* * *

Briggs is known for being the coldest part of Amestris, so if the Akatsuki talked to anyone about this day, they would blame that for the chill that ran down their spines. But they were alone, with their leader, so they had to be honest. Those with flowing blood felt it turn to ice and their brains did nothing to help them process what they just heard.

"I'm sorry, did you fucking say 'everything'?!" Hidan screeched, voice breaking the sound barriers that protected his teammates from the truth. Blood pressures rose while the only woman of the group nodded in confirmation, "Define everything."

"Who we are, what our intentions are in this world, what we will do when we return home. If she asked, I answered." Konan blinked, realizing that this was not helping their blood pressure, "She did not ask about your pasts besides why you were recruited. Olivier had no interest in your histories."

"Why did you think this was a good idea, un?!" Oh goodie, Deidara matched Hidan's pitch, "Do you not realize that this could have gotten you killed?! Could have gotten us killed?!"

"I have to agree with Hidan and Deidara, that was a dangerous move you made, Konan… why?" Itachi implored, trying to be the rational one, Sasori certainly wasn't helping.

Konan motioned for them to follow and with much reluctance, they did such. Eyes constantly scanned the walls and ceilings, their anxieties eating away their thin veil of security when they noticed the tight corridors and the lack of windows. Everything was metal and concrete while their footsteps ricochet throughout the hallways.

Eventually, they made their way to what they could perceive to be a storage room where Konan closed the door behind them, "I did not tell her right away, but I had to in order to earn her trust and her alliance." Konan let out a fond chuckle, "She's a strategist who has no need for weaknesses, she saw my secrets as that and decided to have a tank -some military vehicle- in my face unless I, in her words, 'spill it'."

"How is telling some bitch we're criminals hell-bent on world domination going to earn us a fucking ally?" Surprisingly Hidan was being semi-rational despite his rage.

"Because I assured her that we had no interest in this country." Konan watched as four heads all tilt to the side in unison, kinda cute, "That's all she cared about. And when I told her about the Homunculus and Bradley, she is demanding proof but it was enough to remove the tank from my face and earn her ear to listen. Taking down a series of her men using my jutsu and only a kunai also satisfied her need to know if I would survive Briggs."

Something wasn't settling in the Akatsuki's minds, there had to be something more behind all of this.

"She's actually a rather interesting person. It's refreshing to spend time with a woman who can talk freely."

There it is, that's what was missing.

Deidara placed a hand on his hip, "So you two are buddies, un?"

"In a sense, we have a mutual understanding of what it's like to lead." Konan responded, "Now, any other questions?"

The silence was enough of an answer.

xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

There's a fine line between rage and amusement when it comes to Konan's blank face. When amused, but hiding it, she merely keeps her head slightly tilted, a way to keep the muscles in her shoulders from shaking. But when she's mad, it was all in her eyes. It was like staring at two sets of amber fire, licked with waves of disappointment that was usually exclusive to one's parent.

And right now, Ed was facing the full brunt of it and in front of Major Miles.

"It's bad enough I leave my men alone for over a week and to hear that they've dealt with being spied on… but I thought you would have been smart enough to research your automail before coming here, Edward Elric." And there was the using of the full name!

"Lay off will you…" Ed mumbled though he felt himself shrink when the rage from the woman's eyes swaps for pure disappointment, "I already got scolded by the medic, the guy with the ugly automail and the General."

Without warning, Ed found his cheek being pinched and then harshly pulled, "Apparently you haven't learned your lesson since you're determined to give me sass."

"OW OW OW! Le' go!" The pint-sized alchemist tried to remove the fingers digging into his cheek, but that failed miserably, "We wouldn't be in this mess if you had backed us up!"

"Why would I do that? You need to learn your lessons." Konan released his cheek after one last pull, "Do as she says, the Akatsuki are also working. I need to speak with the Major General about some things, behave."

"Yes, ma'am…" Ed rubbed his cheek while watching Konan leave, "Why does she use the General's full title?"

"Oh, because General Armstrong hates it." Miles responded with a chuckle, "I believe Konan sees it as a game to remind the General that she is not yet of the highest rank, also the word 'Major' reminds her of her brother." He did not miss the Elric brothers nearly face planting at his comment.

While the elevator ride was intriguing, learning about how Miles became a soldier under the General, it was what was outside the elevator that made them stop in their tracks.

"Oh good, you two have already started your tasks. These boys will be joining you, and when you're all done I'll have someone fetch you all to be sent to your quarters."

"Yeah yeah, got anyone I can fucking sacrifice in this fuckcicle?"

Ed stood mouth-agape as he watched Hidan carelessly swing his scythe at frozen icicles. The albino paid no mind whenever one stabbed into his body and seemed to have ditched his coat some time ago. Itachi was standing a good several feet behind Hidan, arms folded and staring at the icicles as they seemed to just melt under his gaze. Suddenly, Ed was envious of their chakra.

If Miles had an opinion on the odd display, he merely cataloged it in a file labeled "Ask Konan" and stored it in his brain for later. Handing the brothers their tools, he returned back inside the fort.

Ed struggled to reach the icicles while also occasionally looking at the two shinobi, "So where are Sasori and Deidara?"

Itachi finally looked away from his metaphorical staring contest, the current contender -a foot long icicle- suddenly crashed to the ground, melting at his feet. The Uchiha paid no mind to this while he spoke, "Deidara was given a thicker set of clothes and was sent over the wall to scout, Sasori is on the lower floor to examine and assist in engineering the fort. Since I'm injured," He raised his wrapped wrist to prove his point, "and Konan told the General that Hidan was immortal we were sent here until she could find more appropriate jobs for us."

"Right… and you're just standing there because- Wait, right, your fire chakra." Ed's shoulders slumped when he also realized that meant Itachi didn't feel how cold it really was, "I hate you guys."

Itachi let out a hum, returning his gaze to the icicles then to the long row of cleared metallic bars, "Let's go find Sasori, Hidan."

"Fina-fucking-ly!" Hidan threw on his cloak without hesitation, "Freezing my ass off working for these bastards."

"Wait, we're supposed to-" Al reached out to stop the shinobi but they vanished in puffs of smoke, "Wait… for…"

"Aw forget it, Al. You know they only follow Konan's orders." Ed snorted and resumed his struggle to reach icicles, "Damnit, why did they give us this job?!"

xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

It didn't take long for Sasori to gain the respect of most of the engineers on the lower floor of Briggs. When they first saw the tiny redhead, they instantly thought he would be squashed before the day was over with how twitchy the "kid" was. All it took was for Sasori to use some chakra strings to make it look like he was carrying a large load of metal for the snickers to stop.

Something wasn't right though. Sasori could feel an intense -and familiar- wave of energy residing below the thick, concrete flooring. Enough of it made Sasori stock up chakra into his feet and the tips of his fingers. He only relaxed when he spotted Hidan and Itachi entering the room and they also tensed up, no one noticing the Elric brothers being escorted in by one of Mustang's former men.

"Huh? What's that noise?"

Oh no…

Sasori didn't think for a moment when his chakra strings connected to the engineers -when did he care about the lives of others?- and he yanked them back, earning shocked yelps.

The floor where the men once stood blasted into chunks. A hulking figure that made even Armstrong look small climbed from the rubble, chains connected to his wrists, and the tattoo on his shoulder gave enough towards his identity.

Sasori slowly backed away, having let go of the men he pulled out of danger and stopped when he was beside the Uchiha. The three Akatsuki members stood in a row in front of the Briggs soldiers and the Elric brothers; might as well use this as an opportunity to gain the soldiers' favor.

"Hidan, get blood from him, do as much damage. Itachi, fire, lots of it…" Sasori whispered, already pulling out a puppet scroll, "I'll paralyze him with a nerve agent-" But he stopped when an odd noise left the Homunculus' nose.

"Zzzzzz…"

Oh, you have got to be kidding them.

"YOU'RE SLEEPING?!" The brothers shrieked behind them, reawakening the Homunculus from his short nap.

"Oh… what is this…" The bulky creature spoke in a low, dazed voice. Something about this tone of voice tickled at the back of the Akatsuki's brain, specifically Itachi's… but where? The creature didn't seem to care about the brothers' attempts to reason with him, "Go dig a hole… what a pain…"

For once in his life, Itachi's shoulders slumped, "There is a Homunculus Nara…" His voice just screamed that he was done with this entire thing, just… done.

Actually, it seems like all three of them were just done with this situation. Sasori observed the Homunculus with a bored expression as it reached for the lift and Hidan rested against his scythe with a yawn. What exactly were they suppose to do with this guy again?

They could vaguely hear Buccaneer yelling at the brothers for talking to a… a what spy? None of them caught the word and they only paid attention when the negative energy was targeted at them, "And you three! I thought you guys were supposed to be working for Konan? Why are you just standing there!"

Itachi turned his head to look at the ponytailed man, "I wish to inform you that the creature you are trying to shoot at is one of the Homunculus. I trust Konan explained that much to you?"

Buccaneer gave a cocky smirk, "Ha! That's what he is? All right, you have your orders from her right? Help us out!"

No one saw the Akatsuki move as they body flickered to the upper floor just in time to watch Olivier blast the Homunculus with a… uh… a big gun?

"What the fuck is that thing?" Hidan shouted, pointing at the massive weaponry with interest, "Blondie would kill to have one of those!"

"It's a rocket launcher, civilians aren't allowed to own one." Olivier responded calmly, though slightly annoyed when the Homunculus appeared unharmed, "Tch… annoying."

"You're not going to hurt him with normal weapons I'm afraid." Konan literally materialized beside her, having turned into paper to catch up, "Might I offer that my men kill him?"

Ed and Al had made it to the upper floor with the rest, both trying to use alchemy to slow the Homunculus down, "A little help here!" Ed shrieked with noticeable panic.

But Konan and Olivier were staring each other down. No words were shared, only slight eye movements and a few vague gestures. The room seemingly hitting the pause button as these two powerful women shared their unheard thoughts.

Finally, Olivier smirked, "Heh… glad we could come to an understanding."

"Indeed, we shall move quickly."

"What the fuck was that about?!" Hidan shouted out what was basically everyone but Miles and Buccaneer's thoughts. Though he was ignored in favor of Olivier heading towards her tanks, "Oi, bitch! What in the name of Jashin did the part of 'normal weapons don't work' did you not fucking get!"

"I do not know nor care about who this Jashin person is. So silence you imbecile before I cut off your tongue!" Olivier barked the order, though not very phased that she was just called a bitch.

"I fucking dare you! I'll just grow a new one so I can sacrifice you to Lord Jashin!"

Itachi could almost feel the never-going-to-appear grey hair form on his head, "Hidan, please shut up. You're going to make this difficult for all of us."

"As long as he doesn't practice his faith on my soldiers I could care less. In any case," Olivier glared at the Elric brothers, "when we are done with this, you two have some questions to answer. I heard a rough summary from Konan, but I want to hear it from the original source, understood!"

Ed paused, fear enveloped his eyes to the extent where even Konan was paying close attention, "... We… We can't…"

Olivier and Konan shared looks, coming to a silent agreement once again. The blue haired woman held a hand signal up, slowly turning into paper and flying to each of the Akatsuki currently present in this fight. Each member received a clone, and each one receiving the same order.

Stay out of this fight, let Briggs handle this. Prevent casualties.

Ed and Al were "forced" to help at gunpoint by Buccaneer and Konan felt a knot twist itself in her stomach. It hasn't been that long since she last saw these boys and yet in that short amount of time they're tense at just the sight of a Homunculus. If this has anything to do with Bradley…

'No, focus on the Homunculus, nothing else matters right now.'

Konan shot out some paper in front of the Homunculus while Itachi shot out a fireball, mixing the two and creating a more potent fire. Sasori made sure to pull men out of the way while Hidan happily got in the lines of fire to get a good slash here and there of the hulking figure. Oddly this Homunculus had almost no reaction, there was the occasional apathetic "Ow…" but he seemed more interested in asking about work.

They needed time while the Briggs soldiers prepared for Olivier's plan, and they needed the Homunculus in the elevator. Suddenly, Konan was struck with an idea.

"Enough!" The voice was loud, almost too loud to have come out of Konan's mouth, but it was her voice nonetheless. Both Akatsuki and Briggs stopped what they were doing -besides the ones working with Olivier- and watched while Konan approached the Homunculus, "What is your name?"

The Homunculus looked at the woman, brain slowly registering anything, "Talking is… too much work… can I stop working…? Where… am I…?"

It was worth a shot, "Pride wants you to keep on working," Konan noticed how the Homunculus was caught to attention, "I can show you where you can go so you can keep working. Stop destroying things here, it'll hurt the plans."

She mentally prayed to Pein and the Sage of Six Paths that the wording would work. That one time she met Pride was enough to make her believe that he was the top Homunculus and whatever this Homunculus was doing was part of their plans. Konan only released the breath that she just now realized she was holding when the creature nodded.

"Don't want… Pride mad… too much work…"

"Then please step in there and we'll take you to your work location." Konan gestured to the elevator like she was some polite hostess. The Homunculus entered -complaining the entire time- and stood still while the door closed. Beside her, Konan sees from her peripheral vision the barrel of a tank, with Olivier in it as usual.

"Good thinking, it minimized damages and your men were quick to respond. I had the dark-haired one escort the brother's to the lower floor to continue the plan. Care to join?"

"Must you ask, Olivier?"

Xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

When the Homunculus reached the 8th floor, he was swiftly thrown across the room by Buccaneer while the brothers and Vato tossed gasoline on him. Itachi stood on the sideline, waiting for the arrival of his leader. He didn't need to wait for long.

The elevator dinged open and Buccaneer took one look at it, grew a menacing grin and backed away while saluting. The brothers paled as Olivier strolled out of the elevator in a tank, murder in her eyes while Konan sat outside of the tank like it was a chair. Any other person on that tank would have risked being thrown off, but other people don't have chakra, and this gave Konan a perfect view of the inside of the tank.

"Move it, you little red runt!" Konan smirked at the nickname Olivier gave Ed and readjusted her feet so the tank's accelerations didn't jostle her. A shell from the tank shot out, hitting the Homunculus and sending him flying back through the doors and against the railing. Again, he was unharmed by the attack.

The tank was out of ammo, so Vato removed his gun and began to shoot at the icicles hanging above the Homunculus, "Good thing you guys didn't break these ones yet."

"I apologize for my slacking." Itachi zipped past everyone and ran towards the Homunculus, the brothers running beside him and the three connected their feet to his chest. The Homunculus fell to the ground and Itachi watched as the ice slowly formed on the body, but not fast enough for his liking. Taking a smoke bomb from his hidden scroll, Itachi tossed it down. The bomb exploded on contact and covering the Homunculus in smoke. However, with it being used in more warmer climates under normal conditions, the material used for the smoke quickly began to freeze from the sudden impact of icy snow, effectively trapping the Homunculus in a mixture of frozen gasoline and powder.

"You can sleep there until spring, monster. Alright, lock those two up." Olivier ordered Buccaneer, ignoring the protests of the brothers, "You helped against your will, and you are under suspicion of being a spy. I have no intention of letting you go until you tell me everything, from why you panicked at the sight of that thing to what the hell is happening in Central!"

Olivier stormed off, Konan and Itachi on her heels, "I'm sending Miles to collect a report on a man named Kimblee." She swerved around to look at Konan, "How much do you trust your men?"

"Well enough." Was the only response Konan would give.

"I want someone to go with him. If what you said about Bradley is true, and I'm afraid that I'm beginning to believe you, then I can't trust him to go alone. Send one to go with him as a bodyguard."

Itachi's face lit up for a brief moment. Kimblee, the one known for making explosions and recently released from prison? Itachi looked to Konan, "Konan, may I suggest Deidara?"

* * *

 **Side story #4: Konan meets Briggs**

Konan didn't know what to expect when she stood before the wall of metal surrounded by snow and ice. No one at Central could give her proper information and while Major Armstrong offered a letter of introduction, Konan politely declined. If she was only knowing about this General Armstrong now then that could only mean their relationship is rockier than Alex cared to admit.

The guns pointed at her face was enough to inform her that her visit was not a welcomed one.

Konan paid little attention to the weapons and instead was more interested in the woman looking down at her like a wolf would its prey. Yes, this place was a piece of tight-knit machinery, and right in front of her was the centerpiece.

"I am Konan the Blue Rose Alchemist, I was given orders by the Fuhrer to be trained under a…" Konan couldn't resist, "Major General Armstrong."

The instant figurative lightning that sparked was worth everything.

Olivier glowered at the other woman, keeping her face tight and only showing disapproval as her men searched their new "guest" as they were so lightly putting it. They found no luggage, just a single roll of some cloth-like paper and the alchemist silver pocket watch. Of course, Fuhrer Bradley had informed Briggs that they would receive an alchemist, but she was expecting someone more… threatening, impressive, someone that would be a flaunt in Central's power as they oh-so-generously lend them a dog of the military.

'Blue Rose Alchemist? Tch. Has the military gone soft in these recent years?'

"Lock her up until we can confirm her identity with Central. If she's lying, shoot her." Olivier gave the order, twisting on her boot to return inside as she sent Miles to make the call. Oddly, she didn't hear the stranger complain. Within the hour Olivier was waiting in her main office, the stranger locked away in a cell-

"I've never seen this on a map, what is Drachma?"

Chaos ensued as guns were drawn, a sword was unsheathed and multiple bodies shouting out words of shock. Olivier was met with that same pair of amber eyes and blue hair, blood pouring from a cut on her neck as Olivier had pulled her sword out in response. It was like the very air was sucked out as Konan chose to ignore the steel pressed against her neck and continued to study the map on Olivier's desk.

"How did you get in here?"

Konan slowly blinked, something that definitely got on Olivier's nerves, "Your cells are easy to break out of."

Olivier removed her blade from Konan's neck, wiping it clean with a cloth then sheathing it with a smirk. Challenge accepted, "Show me."

She followed Konan to the cells where they keep the rare occasional prisoners. They've had less use for the cells since she came along, with Drachma being silent in their movements lately. What got Olivier puzzled was that every cell was locked, the men that were supposedly guarding Konan were standing there like a bunch of idiots, "Explain how she got out!"

"Huh? But sir, she-" One of the soldiers looked over their shoulder and blanched, "What the?! She was just there a minute ago! General, I swear-"

Oh, she did not have time for this. Olivier made a sharp turn and shoved Konan into a nearby storage closet across from the cells. The other woman made no move to escape or express any form of… well, emotions, as Olivier slammed the door shut and locking it with a set of heavy steel keys. The storage door had no windows, only just enough of a gap at the bottom to minimize traction and prevent mold.

"Stay there until I send someone to collect you." Olivier gave the half-assed order. Walking out she tossed the key to Buccaneer. He's with her the rest of the day, and it was the only key to that door. There was no feasible way for that woman to get out.

Walking down the hallways, Miles approached her and Buccaneer, "Sir, the woman has no known long-term identity in all of Amestris. But I was given a cryptic message from the person I spoke with."

Olivier nodded, "What was the message?"

Miles adjusted his glasses and held a piece of paper to his face, "Beware of paper and good luck keeping her contained."

Olivier gave no outward reaction.

xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

'How…?' Olivier couldn't comprehend her confusion, a rare emotion that was raving since the previous day.

There, in the mess hall, sitting with her men, was Konan. The woman was chatting to some engineers, keeping herself professional but also casually eating her food like she was supposed to be there and not locked away in a cellar. Olivier snuck a glance at Buccaneer to confirm that yes, he still had the key and as far as she was concerned, that door was never opened.

Sensing the hostile aura behind her Konan got to her feet and walked over to Olivier. While the General was expecting a snide comment, she was surprised when Konan bowed to her in a respectful manner. Hmm… maybe this woman was properly disciplined after all.

"Shall I be tested now, Major General?"

Olivier clicked her tongue and placed a hand on her sword, "Dodge this." Unsheathing her sword, she swung up in a diagonal motion. Olivier expected Konan to dodge the attack given the warning and was surprised when she felt her blade hit mass, but at the same time it hit, there was also the sound of fluttering paper.

The woman in front of Olivier broke apart until she was hundreds of sheets of paper flying around the room. Her men were frozen in curiosity as the paper accumulated itself to the high ceiling, where it reformed into Konan, crouched down against the metal.

"That's not alchemy." Olivier commented as she put away her sword once again, "And I can see now what they meant by paper. I order you to return to the ground, I have some questions for you."

Konan tilted her head and Olivier watched as she fell to the ground. Well, falling is an understatement. If anything Konan floated, gracefully landing in front of the General with that same passive expression that seemed to never change.

Shouting orders at her men, Olivier lead Konan to a more private area with Miles and Buccaneer at her sides. Any other person -like that pathetic Mustang- would have seen this as Olivier flaunting her power, but no, she just wanted her most trusted men to not have to deal with a paraphrased or rehashed explanation from Konan. Taking a chair, the General sat confidently while Konan took to another chair in a more relaxed manner, "I want to know who you are, where you really are from, who are your allies if you have any, what are your powers because I can tell it is not alchemy and finally; what is your goal for this country?"

Konan smiled softly at the laundry list, "Would you like the answers in order, Major General?"

"... Start talking, Alchemist."

Neither women noticed Miles and Buccaneer exchange worried glances.

"I am Konan, I'm one of the co-founders of an organization called the Akatsuki. We are from a land far from here, farther than Xing. My allies currently are four men, all are identifiable by the cloaks we all wear, the rings on our fingers and they share my ability to scale walls. My powers are a unique harness of energy, no one can use it like us but some can manipulate their energy to do similar actions. As for my goals for this country…"

Olivier glared at the pause.

"We personally couldn't care less about it. We plan on returning home before this coming summer."

"And do what?"

"That is none of your business, but I can guarantee it has nothing to do with Amestris. If that is all, Major General… I shall take to exploring my new environments and getting to work. I hope to begin my training with you soon."

Konan got up from her chair, bowed once more to Olivier and left the room.

Olivier rested her head against her fist, "She's telling most of the truth, but she's keeping secrets."

"Shall we put her under proper interrogations, sir?" Miles questioned, not having much of an opinion on that suggestion.

"No, I'll handle this tomorrow." Olivier stood, "I still have to train her to become more in-depth with the military, by order of the Fuhrer. However, that does not mean I'm going to allow someone to keep secrets under my watch."

xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

The next day Konan was met with something called a tank in her face. No, not a metaphor for an extremely bulky person as she later learned that day, and she didn't visit the armory. She just had a tank… in her face… with Olivier looking down at her, smirking.

"Is there a reason to have this in my face, Major General?"

"I'm tempted to allow you to address me by name if it'll get you to drop that 'Major'. Here in Briggs, the men must be strong, we move as one unit and secrets are not allowed, especially from me. I know every weakness and every flaw of my men so I can strengthen them and their bonds with the others. If you wish to be treated like an equal here, I expect the same from you. So spill it, now."

Konan rose an eyebrow, a wave of interest caught her, "There are ears who I do not wish to hear about this."

"The Fuhrer won't know anything, neither will the other higher-ups." Olivier's smirk grew when she watched Konan's mask break into shock, "I know you didn't come here of your own free will.f you did you wouldn't have been flaunting your powers in front of everyone by day two, you would have waited at least a week. As far as I'm concerned… you were sending a warning. You don't trust those in power and you're afraid. Afraid that you're alone, isolated, risk betrayal; well I don't care about that. I care about my country, my men, and my duties as a member of the Armstrong family, anything else can lick my boots before I step on them. I'm only going to repeat myself one more time…"

The tank moved closer to Konan's face, she could hear someone flipping a switch.

"Spill it."

Konan stared into the barrel of this odd vehicle, seeing the faint outline of a shell inside and for once, Konan felt a wave of comfort. She couldn't pinpoint it but she could feel that Olivier was trustworthy. After all, she didn't even blink when Konan explained that everyone in the Akatsuki are criminals, simply stating "blood is blood no matter the moral behind the spilling" and made Konan move onto the next topic.

Oh yes, this was an ally Konan wanted on her side.

"May we discuss this over some tea and fewer tanks? I think this is the start of a powerful alliance… Olivier Armstrong."

Within 24 hours, Konan was facing hand-on-hand combat with some of the General's men, decimating all of her opponents. At the same time, Olivier was staring at paperwork absentmindedly. Homunculus… Philosopher's stones… Fuhrer Bradley… oh yes, Konan had a lot to show and little to prove. But, if given time, maybe that was all that was needed for the proof to be dropped into her lap.

* * *

 **Olivier and Konan's friendship is something I was excited to see how my brain would put it on paper. I do want to remind everyone that there will be no pairing between the Akatsuki and FMAB characters and that Konan and Olivier's relationship is strictly professional. Also anyone that may think they became friends a little too quickly, from personal experience, girls that have a more alpha-like personality either want to rip each other apart, or are best buds by lunch time. These two ladies bonded with a tank in one of their faces.**

 **I love the arc with Briggs and I'm gonna try my hardest to take my time and have fun with it. I've gotten some ideas and after getting the thumbs up from my beta I'm more than willing to indulge in my plans. Hopefully you guys like it too.**

 **As always, reviews are loved and I will see you guys in the next chapter (hopefully it won't take me almost a bloody month to finish it, ugh.)**

 **Bye!**


	20. Central Never Learns

**Well, Kimblee is finally here, let's see if anyone likes him. Apologies for taking a month to update, writer's block hit me for a few weeks for this fic so I focused on another project to get the creative juices flowing.**

 **Thank you guys for the faves, follows and reviews!**

 **Warning: Swearing, character death, destruction of property, potential plot changes may happen soon**

 **Disclaimer: Still don't own FMAB or Naruto!**

* * *

Miles kept himself from shifting in the driver's seat of the military vehicle while he drove himself and the blond Akatsuki member down the mountain to visit Kimblee. It was not because they were meeting a serial killer. No, what was making him uncomfortable was the teenager playing with clay right next to him. The General -with Konan's consent- informed him of Deidara's… pyrotechnics, but knowing that innocent looking sculpture of an owl could blow them both up was enough to poke at the nerves. Not to mention the fact that this kid has apparently killed more people in a single weekend than any of the Brigg's soldiers in their lifetime combined, made Miles wonder exactly how much of their personalities were fabricated.

Thankfully, Deidara was more interested in smashing the sculpture and making a new animal over and over.

The two reached the military hospital and Miles parked the car then looked at Deidara, "Listen, I was made aware that you have met Kimblee before. You're not military, but I'm going to politely ask that you wait until I'm done talking to him before you say anything, understood?"

"Crystal, un." Deidara chripped, all too excited while he hopped out of the car, his feet making soft crunching noises in the untouched snow.

Miles didn't make a comment but noted that this was the first time he's seen any of these people make footprints in the snow. Even before getting into the car, Deidara had chosen to walk on top of the snow using chakra.

Miles walked through the quiet, nearly empty building with apathy, collecting Kimblee's report at the front desk by a male nurse. He flipped through the pages briefly, then entered Kimblee's room where the man laid in the bed with an IV attached to him somewhere under the blanket. Miles sent Deidara a look, and the teen made a dismissive hand wave. Ignoring Kimblee's interested look and rooted himself in one spot and used the wall as something to lean against. His clay was still in his hands and this time he was making a bear.

Miles and Kimblee discussed everything that happened on the train, though the room was so full of tension you could light a match and it would explode. Finally, Miles stood up, "Briggs will be taking control of this investigation and the hunt for Scar. There will be no need for you to be here after you recover."

Kimblee frowned, "Hold it. I don't want any of you involved, that man is mine to hunt down."

Deidara finally looked up from his clay to watch Miles remove his glasses, "We're not going to allow a serial killer to roam free. The law of the north is survival of the fittest…" Kimblee's eyes widened, freezing in place while Miles got close to his face, "You try to give me orders again and I'll make sure you'll never leave this hospital. The soldiers of Briggs will handle everything. You behave yourself."

Miles took a step away and shot Deidara a look. Deidara returned a smirk and confidently walked over to the bed, "For someone who uses alchemy like my own art, I seem to always find you in weakened positions, un."

"Heh… don't mistake this for weakness, kid. I've seen things that would give you nightmares."

Complete and utter silence.

"... Nightmares, huh?" Deidara cocked his head to the side, "That's a unique concept… I've made my decision!"

Kimblee stared at Deidara like the blond was nuts and not he, "What?"

"I'm going to the be the one that kills you, un." Deidara stated almost matter-of-factly, "My art has been wanting to be shown off to someone that can appreciate a fleeting moment, and what better person to show it off to than to someone who also creates these fleeting moments? It'll be an explosion that brings all others before to shame!"

Kimblee withheld a flinch as his bed jolted when Deidara slammed his hands on the mattress, "Watch your back, Kimblee. You give me a moment of vulnerability, and I'll send you into parts, staining everything in ashes, un." Deidara gave him a wide, psychotic grin then quickly schooled it back into his cool personality and left the room with Miles.

"I'll be reporting that to the General, you do know this right?" Miles asked, not particularly bothered by what he had just witnessed.

"Yeah, but I know she doesn't care, un. Konan doesn't either. Our time is almost up, so from what I see, as long as I don't go against her direct orders and I don't die, I can do whatever pleases me."

Miles regarded the younger male with a raised eyebrow. Well, he did have a point. "Just don't harm anyone from Briggs."

"I actually like you guys, so I can make sure of that, un."

xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

Konan wanted very much to vomit while Vato listed each and every bloodied battle in Amestris' short history. It wasn't because of the deaths, the Five Great Nations had more casualties and in more brutal fashions, but rather the strategic placement of each battle.

Her eyes flickered over to Itachi, the only Akatsuki member that followed her into this tunnel, pleased when she saw his sharingan memorizing the transmutation circle on the paper. Well, this will be useful later.

Olivier growled, "And according to this map, the next place they'll target will be Briggs! Those bastards… what kind of plans do they have for my fort?!"

"Briggs is protecting the country from an outside force, right?" Itachi questioned calmly, his advanced hearing picking up a horse in the distance, "If I wanted to cause bloodshed, I would lead the enemy to the desired location underprepared and instigate a battle. There would be only two options, either destroy the enemy or let them take the fort."

Olivier was practically vibrating with how intense her growling had become. There was no way in hell she would let this happen! But if Drachma were to show up to attack the fort then she and her men would have no choice but to stand their ground and play into the military's game.

Konan walked to Olivier and rested a hand on her shoulder, "If this comes to pass, let me and my men fight for you. We may be unable to stop the bloodshed but we can guarantee your men's safety."

Ed frowned slightly and glanced at Itachi, "You sure you're up for that?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, your condition..." Ed flinched and went quiet when Itachi's eyes flashed in warning, "Uh… nevermind."

"General Armstrong! Lieutenant General Raven is here to see you!" One of Olivier's men reached them on horseback in order to deliver the message.

"... Tch… Very well."

"General," Ed spoke up to get all attention on himself, "can I ask a favor? Could you con as much information from General Raven as you can?"

Olivier regarded this request for a moment and smirked, "I suppose. Konan, once we're all in the clear and depending on Raven's answers, I trust you can deal with our little rat problem?"

"Hidan has gotten impatient. We'll do our best." Konan answered, breaking into paper and flying out of the cave to look for the others and prepare the room where Olivier and Raven would speak with each other. Itachi stayed behind in order to not only reserve chakra but to also prepare for who else came with General Raven.

xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

Sasori overlooked all of the material and equipment needed for the Briggs men to explore the tunnels. The radios should work even that far underground and the horses were a powerful breed. They were only going to be down there for a few hours at the most, nothing to be concerned about really.

The puppet master nodded in approval then walked over to the massive hole in the ground and kneeled beside it. Signaling for the men to stay there -when you spend time with the military, you learn a few hand signals- and jumped into the tunnel himself. It was dark, no duh about that. The only light in it was from the hole above him and Sasori quickly moved into the shadows, for some reason finding more safety when nothing can see him.

"Hey, Sasori, right?" Sasori looked at the hole where his name was being shouted into, "We're going to start sending everything down so watch yourself-"

"If you know what's good for you, you'll stay up there."

A pause.

"Kid, we have orders to-"

"If anyone enters here, they will not come back out alive. That is not a threat." Sasori pulled out a scroll that contained his testing puppets for traps and to trick others into thinking they're real humans, "Send a lantern and the radio."

Harsh whispering from above, Sasori heard it all.

Eventually, a lantern and the radio were both sent down gently along with instructions on how to turn on the radio. Sasori only needed to read it once. He summoned a male puppet, one with a similar body shape to the soldiers of Briggs and quickly dressed it in a uniform that he stole a while back. Before sending the puppet out, Sasori tested the joints, making sure the soldiers could hear the clacking of the puppet's gears.

"Um, what's that noise?"

"If the radio works, that's what you will all hear. I'm going to stay here in the darkness and if your General asks why no one went down here you can inform her that I've refused all access. If you want humans down here, send Hidan down. He's the foul-mouthed one." Sasori heard a collection of understanding "ah"s but otherwise, no one made any moves to find Hidan. To be honest, he didn't want Hidan down here either.

Lighting the lantern and attaching it to the hip of the puppet, Sasori manipulated it to pick up the radio and run down the tunnel. This was going to test his limits. Sasori couldn't move from the darkness, less he makes it harder for the soldiers to hear him. So all that was left was to wait for the ok to turn on the radio.

"Okay, kid! Turn it on!" Sasori frowns, hating that no one believes that he is an adult.

Twitching his left pinky and left middle finger, Sasori blindly made the puppet set the radio down and turn it on. A minute went by and he heard nothing, not his puppet nor the soldiers who were listening to the receiver.

A new soldier's voice spoke up, "Did you turn it on?"

Well, that answered many questions at once.

"There's no connection. I'm bringing my puppet back." Sasori began to reel the chakra strings when he felt, for a split second, a snag in the strings. This was unusual, his jutsu was flawless, it should never snag! Sasori curled his fingers, noting that it felt lighter than before… and quieter.

When the end of the strings reached the light, Sasori couldn't stop himself from blinking in surprise and took all of his willpower to remain in the dark. His puppet was torn apart. Well, what was left of it that is. All that remained was the right arm and bits of the puppet that was attached to chakra. Sasori pulled the arm towards him so he could examine it. There were no fingerprints or scratches, it just looked like something ripped it up like it was nothing.

'A human puppet, ripped apart so easily by a mere snag? No… that can't be the case…' Sasori glared at the darkness, 'Where are the lantern and radio?'

Sasori summoned another puppet just in case and rushed down the tunnel. The darkness seemed safer than if he had a light and stuck to the wall in case something was wrong with the ground. Minutes passed until Sasori came across a light, the lantern. It laid innocently on the floor next to the untouched radio.

Trap.

Sasori wanted to groan, roll his eyes, something immature and humanish since he was supposedly alone. But there was no point to do that as he obviously wasn't alone. Reaching out his free hand, Sasori attached a chakra string to the radio and yanked. The radio flew in a direction that wasn't towards him just to lure out whatever destroyed his puppet. Sure enough, shadowy arms raced after the radio, knocking the lantern over and the boxed-flame rolled towards the puppetmaster and exposing him in the light.

Forgetting the radio, the shadow hands -now sprouting eyes and wide, toothy grins- changed directions and went after Sasori. Realizing that this must be Pride that Konan talked about, Sasori smirked and rushed back into the dark. Pride's shadows stopped when Sasori was out of ranged from the lights and started to make the effort of moving the lantern, the only source of light, towards the redhead.

"You're named after Pride, and yet despite that, you're weak to the dark like a small child is afraid of monsters under the bed. You need light to have power, you would never survive in my world." Sasori clapped his hands together, pulling them apart to reveal the nozzles he uses for his jets of fire and water, alchemy sparks coming from his palms. "The Akatsuki send their regards."

Sasori turned away from the light and threw his hands back and ran. At the same time, powerful jets of water sent him flying in the direction he originated from, the alchemy being used to change the pressure release within the nozzles. The center of the stream was a sharp spout of water that made perfect cuts within the seemingly endless layers of rock and sediment of the tunnel. Surrounding the water was another jet, this one more akin to the force of a geyser, which at Sasori lifting his arms towards the ceiling, quickly began to seep into the already fragile earth.

The kicker to this whole thing? Sasori's right arm produced water at freezing temperature, the left was boiling.

Weathering did its magic. The jets cutting into the rock filled with cold water and with the help of chakra and Sasori using more alchemy, froze on the spot while the boiling water immediately melts the ice, pushing the rocks more. Sasori heard Pride shout something but he was too busy running to care. He swapped the puppet he had out for the 3rd Kazekage, having the puppet open his mouth and summon the iron sand. Nothing fancy was needed, no one could see his art at work anyway.

"Waste of my talent and I hate to admit this, but this would be more for Deidara's explosives… tch."

Annoyed that he would even admit this out loud, Sasori had his favorite puppet slam the iron sand into the ceiling and gravity took over the rest of the job. With one chunk of the tunnel starting to collapse -and Saori dragging large blocks of iron sand against it- more followed suit. Sasori raced against the falling rocks and jumped through the hole, Briggs soldiers supporting him which was not needed at all, and watched as one side of the tunnel turned into piles of rocks. Sasori made quick work to use his chakra strings and the 3rd Kazekage to pull men out of the way as part of the flooring began to collapse into the tunnel. As far as the redhead could see, no one was seriously injured.

"What the hell was that?!" One of the soldiers yelled at Sasori, not out of anger but out of fear.

"There was a Homunculus guarding the tunnels, it tore apart one of my puppets and attacked me. I collapsed the tunnel using alchemy," Not a total lie, "and my other puppets. I believe I collapsed somewhere between 300 and 500 meters of the tunnel. Update your General about this and start filling these floors."

Sasori's tone bit into the men and they instinctively saluted him and scrambled to work around this. Bored now, he went out looking for Deidara, the brat would love to blow up the tunnel even more.

On his hunt, he didn't find Deidara per se… rather someone worse.

"Ah, Sasori. If you're looking for Deidara I believe Konan summoned him and Hidan." Major Miles nodded in greetings to the shorter male, understanding that the Akatsuki deserve respect as they were strong.

Sasori didn't make any signs to acknowledge the man, preoccupied with staring at Kimblee. Something was poking at the back of his head, telling him that if Deidara doesn't kill this man first, he should.

"Oh, so you're the kid's partner. Though… correct me if I'm wrong, but despite the young face something tells me you're no older than I am." Kimblee smirked down at the redhead with an irritatingly amount of confidence.

"You're the first to get that correct without my say so." Sasori commented, though that wasn't much of praise, "I'm the oldest of the Akatsuki."

"Yet you're not in charge are you?"

"No."

Where was this conversation going?

"Doesn't it bother you that a woman who is younger than you is able to order you around?"

Ah… that's where this is going.

"I have no problems taking orders from someone younger if they are stronger than me." Sasori saw no reason to lie, Konan was the reason he joined the Akatsuki in the first place. Besides, why would he give Kimblee any reason to think he could disorganize the shinobi? "Don't bother using this trick with the others. You'll only piss off our immortal and send our youngest members into a blood-filled rage and since we are not a part of the military we can do that."

"Even at the risk of Konan being court-martialed for treason?"

"You must have not been told much about us if you think Bradley could lay a finger on Konan before we break his neck."

Kimblee snapped his head over his shoulder to find Itachi standing there, expression calm and not looking at him but rather Sasori.

"Konan wants you to report to the General about what happened in the tunnel." Itachi ignored how Kimblee's interests peaked, "Come on."

Sasori walked past Miles and Kimblee, but not before passing on a little message, "While I don't see eye-to-eye with my idiotic brat of a partner I do agree with him on this. If he does not kill you, I will."

Kimblee and Miles watched the two leave down the hallway and through some doors. Kimblee let out a short laugh, "Well well well, I have an entire line of people wanting to kill me."

'And I pray that one of them succeeds because I'm about to join in that line.' Miles thought to himself grimly.

xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

General Raven was not pleased with any of the updates given to him by Olivier or Konan. These stupid women! Do they not realize that immortality was at their grasps, and yet they let some kid destroy part of a several-hundred-year-old plan?! The Fuhrer would have his head if he told them about the sealed tunnel! Sloth was already behind schedule thanks to Briggs keeping him in the snow, now he has to dig through concrete and god knows what else!

But the man kept a politely fake smile, "I'm sure there was nothing to worry about, but the monster must be returned to the tunnel to finish his work. I'm sure you understand, General."

"Of course. We wouldn't want things to go astray." Ah, that's more like it. Raven watched Olivier bark orders to collect Sloth to be returned and to not fill the floor with concrete just yet, not until Sloth was returned. Raven also enjoyed the expression on Konan's face, like being told she just consumed rotten food.

Things always went his way. Sloth was complacent in returning to work after mentioning Pride and there was a sickly sweet satisfaction in watching these "Akatsuki" glare at him the entire time but no one able to do anything; not with Olivier on his side. What power, to be in control of Briggs' own impregnable wall with the promise of immortality!

Three of the Akatsuki vanished not long after, leaving only Konan and a man with white hair. The man stuck close to Konan, standing behind her like some guard dog ready to bite. Raven paid no mind.

"You see General? We are the chosen ones, soon to be blessed with God-like immortal bodies. Those that are not chosen… well, they'll live under us as we rule this world." Raven boasted, pleased with watching Briggs men seal the hole away. There was extra work to be done since the redhead destroyed around half a mile of tunnel, part of the floor caved down with it. An interesting choice in alchemy, shame the redhead wasn't chosen like himself or Olivier.

"Those who are not chosen… will they be sacrificed?" Olivier questioned, though Raven missed the tint of venom in her voice behind that calm expression.

"Yes. This is survival of the fittest. The weak shall become the foundation of this country and it will begin anew, grander than before."

"Hmmm…" Olivier hummed, "Blue Rose Alchemist, come here."

Raven angled his head curiously while the blue-haired woman approached them, the man staying a few feet behind her. He was certainly a strange person from the General's perspective, he seemed keen on drawing shapes on the powdered concrete under his feet.

Olivier never took her eyes off of Konan, "So if the weak become the foundation, then that means the strong are the structure and the top?"

"Correct," Raven responded with a smile.

"What happens to those not chosen but are stronger than anyone?"

Raven rested a hand suggestively on Olivier's shoulder, "Then they will prove themselves worthy before the time arrives."

This time it was Konan that spoke, "And if immortality is already given to them?"

"What-?"

But Raven didn't get to ask when a flash of red crossed his vision and a searing pain ran through his body. Looking down at his arm, he lets out a scream when it barely hung on some muscle, even the bone was cut. The white-haired man transformed before everyone, looking skeletal and Raven felt more pain when the man stabbed himself in the stomach.

"It's amazing what old age will do to someone." Olivier spoke despite the fact she just witnessed Hidan's powers for the first time, "I can imagine once-upon-a-time before you began to fear your own mortality, you had an earnest love for your country. But now you're weakly clinging to a false promise, willing to sacrifice your men and the very people of this country for your gain."

"Y-You! You were supposed to be one of the chosen ones!"

"Pah!" Hidan barked a laugh, ready to aim his weapon for a vital spot, "Like she wants to spend an immortal life with your crusty ass!"

Not seeing a need to use her sword, Olivier merely kicks Raven into the cement, "Now you can be the foundation of this fort. Do try to not disappoint me, I have high hopes for your corpse."

Panic overflowed within Raven's body. No! He was to be immortal! He was to be on top, not at the bottom! He-

Hidan stabbed the spire he had through his mouth and past the back of his head to shut the rambling that Raven didn't even realize he was doing. What wasn't blood filling Raven's mouth was concrete as he was swallowed up in the material.

"Now that that's done, get in touch with Major Miles. And get back to work! I want that concrete nice and leveled!" Everyone ran to follow orders while Olivier stormed off, Hidan and Konan flanking her.

"Woo, I can't believe you dealt with that geezer touching you!" Hidan bellowed, skin returning to normal, not seeming to mind he now has a gaping hole in the back of his head. Konan waved him away so he could go and get fixed up/hide from everyone.

"That was unpleasant, I believe a bath is in need to wipe that man's filth forever. The concrete should be settled by then and I can get rid of these people in my fort."

Konan closed her eyes and smiled, "I'll do your hair when you are done. I'm curious to see what all of that hair looks like up."

"If you put a flower in my hair I will cut you into confetti."

"Very well."

After Olivier had a bath -and burned her uniform- she waited for Konan to finish her hair. There was no need for a mirror, she already knew that she would never leave this room with her hair in anything but freeform, but Olivier wanted Konan to have a rare moment to feel like a normal woman. Granted when Olivier looked into a mirror to admire the final result… she had some issues to address.

"What did I tell you?"

Konan didn't miss a beat, "You said no flowers, you said nothing about snowflakes." She easily caught the snowflakes being thrown at her like shuriken, "You could have passed the shinobi academy with those throwing skills."

"Hmph, if that's all it takes to become a shinobi then I fear the power gap your homeworld has."

"You'd be petrified, actually." Konan pocketed the hair accessories and left the room with Olivier, not feeling any need to figure out where her men were at this particular moment, "The weakest can barely create clones while the strongest… they could control anything."

"Sounds to me like your world needs to reevaluate what is needed to join your profession."

"No, there's no need. The weaker shinobi work best with helping non-shinobi while those like me are soldiers. It's no different than your military where the lower ranks are secretaries and messengers while the higher ranks go to war."

Olivier gave her a nod then headed out to her office. Konan went her own way to find everyone to sort out new orders, she wants Scar found before this Kimblee person does and she wants that tunnel destroyed at the first convenience.

Konan found Sasori leaning against a wall staring at nothing with a blank expression, "Sasori? Where is Deidara?"

"Couldn't find the brat, I think he went out to scout the area and fly around. Kimblee is blackmailing the Elric brothers right now." Sasori responded, jerking his head to the partially opened door where Konan faintly heard Ed yelling something and- wait, who is the girl's voice?

Taking long strides, Konan burst into the room and felt her anger flare up, "Winry?"

"Oh! Konan, thank goodness you're here! Could you please explain to Ed that I'm here to update his automail? Um… Konan?" Winry jolted when she was suddenly yanked and pushed behind the older woman in a protective manner, "What-?"

"There's no need for hostilities Blue Rose Alchemist, the Fuhrer merely wanted to make sure that the Fullmetal Alchemist was taken care of." Kimblee tipped his hat politely but his eyes showed that he was relishing in the hostilities from both the brothers and Konan.

Konan glared at Kimblee but a quick glance at his palms stopped herself from slicing his throat right there, "If that's all then, you can leave."

"Oh, no I can't. You see, it's my job to ensure Miss Rockbell is safe-"

"The Akatsuki will personally make sure Winry is protected." Konan interrupted with a sharp zip-it motion of her hand. "You, on the other hand, are more of a threat than a help."

"Konan, why are you all acting so weirdly?" Winry questioned, her gut telling her all of the sudden to stick close to the other woman.

"I'll explain later… hm… why not let Sasori take you to where you can prep your tools so you can work on Ed's automail? He's been meaning to ask about machines to you." Konan said, keeping a somewhat smile on her face while talking to Winry.

Winry faltered slightly, "Um, sure I guess? I'll see you soon Ed and stop getting into trouble!" She backed away from the group and left to the hallway where Sasori was ready to escort her.

Kimblee smirked, "That was rude, I was just trying to be a gentleman-"

"Using Winry as blackmail will get you killed faster than it will help you get what you want." Konan was on a roll with these interruptions, "From now on, you'll never be alone. We have our eyes on you." Now it was Konan's turn to smirk, an expression so similar to Olivier that Ed and Al both gulped at the sight of it, "I can't wait to see how you'll try to manipulate people who have nothing for you to use against."

With that, Konan left the room, leaving behind Ed and Al to fight their own battle in not only getting out of their cell but to also make sure Winry knew the truth. Now… where did Deidara go?

* * *

 **Kimblee certainly isn't popular with the Akatsuki huh? I have some plans for that guy and needless to say he won't be getting a happy ending.**

 **Again I'm so sorry that updates are becoming slower, I've been getting so absorbed in the fanfic that I'm working on next that I keep forgetting to work on this and when I do work on it… well, writer's block isn't pleasant even if it's short-lived. As a result I'm gonna mess with the plot heavily from now on as at this point, the Akatsuki are comfortable enough to take matters into their own hands.**

 **As always, reviews are loved and I'll see you guys in the next update.**

 **Bye!**


	21. Split up Again

**I'm alive! Sorry for the late update, writer's block kicked in and stayed there. I've honestly been doing a page here and there for the last two months making myself finish this. Hopefully I can finish this fanfic, but that may cause me to skip a few episodes as I'm not sure how long I can keep an interest in this fic and I refuse to abandon stories.**

 **Thank you for the fave, follows and reviews!**

 **Warning: Swearing, violence, poor Scar is not having a good day… neither is Itachi.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own FMAB or Naruto**

* * *

While the search for Deidara turned out to be fruitless in the Akatsuki's endeavors, there was little to worry about with the blond's disappearance. The main reason is that he would not be far from the fort and Deidara is not one for being stuck in confined places. If anything, the fact it only took until now for the blond to vanish was more of a surprise than anything else.

Major Miles approached the Akatsuki with caution, as they were all gathered together to discuss future plans. "I already informed Kimblee, but we have intel that Scar was last seen in an abandoned mining town nearby. If you wish to send someone over, the Elric brothers plan on going with."

"I'll go with them," Konan responded with a little more force than needed, looking at her men. "Sasori will come with me. Itachi and Hidan will remain here to help out the fort and wait for Deidara."

Itachi nodded in a slightly sluggish manner while Hidan let out an uncaring yawn, both walked off to continue their respective duties. Though it wasn't much effort to hear Hidan whining about wanting to go so he could "sacrifice some heathens".

By some miracle, it wasn't snowing though that did nothing to stop the tense mood within the car ride towards the mining town. All of the cars were packed like sardines, with Sasori and Konan sharing a car with Kimblee, who always made sure his hands were visible to the shinobi. The silence was thick in the air, the poor Briggs driver felt his palms become clammy every time he looked in his rearview mirror only to have soulless brown eyes staring back at him. Sasori sitting in the middle to keep Kimblee away from his boss.

"So, Konan, what alchemy do you specialize in?" Kimblee spoke first, smirking the entire way.

"Paper," Konan responded flatly, not taking her eyes off the window. In her head, she counted each pine tree they passed, when the slopes changed and how deep the snow was at each half mile. Something told her that she would not be returning to Briggs in one of these cars.

"Paper? Oh, I'm sure you could give more detail to me than just paper. How did you learn about alchemy? Where are you from? I've heard some interesting things about you from colleagues of mine."

Something sharp was poking Kimblee's stomach.

The man looked down, keeping his expression calm when he spotted a spiked cable, not stabbing him, but the threat was loud and clear.

"Okay then, Sasori correct? Tell me about yourself." Kimblee turned his attention to the redhead that was currently threatening his life with a… cable protruding from his stomach, based on where it's exiting Sasori's cloak.

"My hair is red."

"... And?" Kimblee pushed for more information.

"You requested me to talk about myself. I just did. Now shut up, we are not friends and unless you suddenly turn into a blond teenager with a speech impediment you are lucky I even responded." Sasori snapped, returning the stomach cable back to its original placement and resumed his unblinking stare at the driver.

'Tough crowd,' Kimble thought, trying to keep his annoyance in check. Envy was right, getting information from any of the Akatsuki is going to be difficult. But the difficulty only made the thrill more fun.

The car ride ended with a sharp jerk of the breaks. Konan and Sasori threw themselves out of the car with the grace of a shrine maiden that was late for practice but still had to keep appearances.

"Miss. Konan!" Al walked over to the Akatsuki with Ed tensely beside him. Two of Kimblee's men were walking behind them like bodyguards.

Konan gave the brothers a small smile but gave the two men hardened glares. "Mind relieving your duties to us? I'm sure Edward and Alphonse would be more comfortable with people they have traveled with."

"No can do." Responded the blond one with glasses. "We have strict orders to keep the Elric brothers safe-"

"And I'm sure you would do a fantastic job, but we are here," Konan responded sharply. "You are not needed in protecting these boys when I'm certain the minute Scar is spotted you will lose track of them."

There was a glint of mischief in Ed's eyes.

The dark haired man grumbled, "We would not lose them so easily-"

"There's Scar!" Ed suddenly yelled, rushing into a building with Al hot on his tail.

Konan crossed her arms, putting her weight on her left side while she counted the seconds in her head. Right on the minute mark, she faintly heard the sound of alchemy being used in the building and that was enough for her to create her paper wings. With powerful flaps, she flew high into the sky until she could only see the buildings but not the people surrounding them. Chakra alone was the only reason she could follow Sasori as he got away from Kimblee by leaping onto a building then running as fast as he could on the rooftops.

While the brothers ran blindly around the town, Konan spotted her target within the first hour of flying around. Sending a paper butterfly to lead Sasori to the correct spot, she landed on a building with immense force. Her chakra made the brick structure groan from the force, but that was a minimum priority.

Sasori leaped to her side. "You found the Xing girl already?"

"I'm not a sensor, but they're the only people in this world with an energy similar to us." Konan opened the roof entrance and entered the abandoned building. Minutes within entering, she skillfully ducked when a series of kunai-like knives flew towards her head.

"How did you find us?" Mei got in a defensive stance, behind her was a shabby man with a crinkled mustache and a hooded man with a disfigured face. The impatience of the girl became evidence when she flew herself at Konan, only to be suspended in the air by Sasori's chakra strings.

The disfigured man gasped when he looked at Sasori. "You! You were at my house with the Elric brothers, with the blond boy!"

'All three of them are blond.' Sasori thought blankly but he recognized the raspy voice. "Oh, it's the doctor." Without much care, he dropped Mei.

"Ow… you should be more careful when handling a lady!" Mei stood up, glaring harmlessly but then her eyes lit up. "Wait, that means you know Alphonse!"

"We're their bodyguards on most days. They are looking for you so you could teach them-" Konan withheld a flinch when Mei burst into a series of squeals. "- Alkahestry…"

"I don't think she's listening." Sasori allowed his eyes to roll to the back of his head much to the gasps from the men. "We can escort you to them quickly. I'm sure they'll be looking for most of the day if we didn't."

"Yes yes yes!" Mei jumped excitedly, "Take me to Alphonse!"

Konan nodded, beginning to walk but noticed that there was a rather important figure missing from this equation. "Where is Scar?"

"Looking for food," Yoki answered, glaring at the Akatsuki with distrust. "How can you trust those kids?"

One head tilt. That's all it took. Konan shifted her head to the right only slightly for her to suddenly be berated in a sob story of failure and trickery. How someone could have such a pathetic sob story that wasn't from her own world is a bafflement in itself, most of it was his own fault if even if a fraction of the percentage was accurate or honest.

"One of my men had to kill his entire family by the age of eleven. Please be aware that that was over a hundred lives, you losing your job out of stupidity is pathetic. You are a fully grown man, get over yourself."

That shut Yoki up pretty quickly.

Fifteen minutes later and Mei lets out a cheer when she spots the familiar suit of armor. She rushed to Al and gave him a happy hug. "Alphonse!"

"Mei! I've been looking everywhere for you!" Al let out a breath of relief to finally find the Xing girl. "How did you find us?"

"The blue haired woman showed us- huh?" Mei looked over her shoulder to where Marco and Yoki were, but no sign of Konan or Sasori. "Where did they go?"

Despite about to scare the girl, Ed let out a breathy laugh. "They do that often. They're nearby, don't worry much. Now…" His face went demonic. "Teach us about alkahestry!"

xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

Kimblee was not in the mood to be reunited with Blank Face #1 and Blank Face #2.

He could smell the lies a mile away. It was like they weren't even trying to hide them. Not much got under Kimblee's skin, but these Akatsuki were like an infestation of parasites crawling under his very flesh and setting every atom in his body ablaze. Apparently, Konan could have easily found Scar if she had the foresight to bring the injured kid with the black hair, or if she wanted to, she could have found the Ishvalan within the hour by herself.

But would she go? No, of course not. If he threatened her with a court-martial? The redhead steps in with a roll of paper that made all of the hair on the back of Kimblee's neck stand up. Something in his gut was telling him that using his explosion alchemy would have little effect on the duo in front of him… then again, he kinda stopped caring after the third "no".

'Forget their orders, there are three more Akatsuki left anyway.'

Completely done with the fifth "I am not obligated to assist you in your assignment as you are not my superior" Kimblee broke character. Removing his gloves and clapping his hands together caused an explosion to burst where the Akatsuki once stood. A grin broke his face while the nearby Briggs soldiers were gaping, readying their guns at him. Finally, now he just has to order the men to disengage and then find Scar-

"That was a very big, and very stupid mistake on your part, Kimblee."

Konan's voice hissed through his ears like a viper ready to strike, paper locked his arms to his body while a metal coil lifted him into the air by his throat. Through the sudden cutting of oxygen, Kimblee watched as the Briggs soldiers put their weapons away when Konan nodded to them.

"You made the mistake of letting my attitude get to you. Where we are from, I am the one to give orders and the people follow my words. Your men are gone, these men here are loyal to each other… and I have survived this cold, worked with them. Now… shall we kill you, or wait until Deidara can have his satisfaction? Pick your fate." Konan commanded, feeling a little bit of pleasure watching this. While she would never admit to enjoying watching people writhe in fear of their jutsu -quite the opposite in fact- something about this world just brought out… a little sadistic side of her that she doesn't like to show.

Unfortunately for her, an explosion from a nearby building caused her to jump away from the squirming man and for Sasori to drop him.

"Kimblee!" Ed ran from the smoke and went to Kimblee who was holding his now bruised throat. Ed grabbed the man by the collar and yanking him by his feet. "How could you let Winry come with us?! You were supposed to protect her and keep her with the Akatsuki! Now that bastard Scar has her!"

With dramatic timing, the smoke cleared out to reveal Scar standing on the roof holding an unconscious Winry under his arm.

Kimblee raised his arms to clap but was stopped by Ed. He watched as Scar stared him down, but then his eyes shift and the Crimson Alchemist watched the color drain from that dark face. He wasn't looking at Kimblee anymore. The man followed Scar's eyes and a raspy growl escaped his lips.

That Ishvalan was more afraid of that woman than him!

… To be fair… Kimblee thought he was looking at a demon for a second.

Konan's orange eyes glowed as she kicked into the air and ran after Scar. Sasori stayed behind, ready to kill Kimblee if he tried to use his alchemy while Konan was in the way. Scar slammed his hand down to cause part of the building to collapse in a cloud of dust. Konan vanished within the dust and by the time it cleared up no one was left on that roof.

Scar cursed inside his head in every language he could think of. Why the hell did no one tell him that the blue-haired alchemist was going to show up? The blue haired, MATERNAL alchemist that tried to kill him months ago that very clearly remembers him, while he carries the precious friend of the Elric brothers?! Did anyone bother to tell her what the plan was? Obviously not because she was throwing paper that was sharper than knives at him!

Scar barely had enough time to jump from a building when what looked like a thousand papers barely missing him by mere inches, the landing made Winry yelp from the jolt. "Now would be a good time to get your friend to stop trying to kill me."

"Huh?" Winry awkwardly craned her neck to see the paper. "Oh! Konan!"

Bad move. Bad bad bad move, the paper is faster now!

"Konan! I'm safe! He's not trying to hurt me, Konan!" Winry yelled out. The paper froze, hovering just by Scar's neck and retreat upon itself to take back the form of the woman that Winry admired and Scar feared. "We needed a way to help Scar leave with us while also keeping Ed and Al on Kimblee's good side."

Scar made no move to protest with the young girl was yanked from his arm and was now being carried by Konan in a similar fashion. The woman's enraged face went back to her trademark deadpan. "And you did not feel the need to inform myself or Sasori of this plan?"

"Um… it was last minute?"

"..." A long sigh. "Where are we going?"

xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

Ed and Al squirmed under Sasori's glare, Al because of guilt and Ed because the puppet master was death gripping his puppet scroll. The older of the two brothers was beginning to wonder if they were having negative effects on the Akatsuki members. Ed could have sworn Sasori never showed emotions a month ago.

"I will allow Konan and Itachi to scold you two for this."

Something told the brothers that Sasori was not being merciful in this statement.

Miles walked over to the trio after getting a phone call from Briggs and sat down. "General Armstrong has been summoned back to Central Command Center and troops from Central have taken over the fort. No doubt they're under the Crimson Alchemist's orders, he was making a lot of phone calls during his time there."

Sasori gave the slightest hint to a frown, "Itachi, Hidan, and the brat are still there right?"

"Yes," Miles responded with a slight nod. "The blond one is still missing and when Central troops tried to order the other two to go to Central with General Armstrong they were found curled in a corner sobbing. Not sure what your friends are capable of, but they are fixated on not leaving that fort without the Blue Rose Alchemist."

"They were told to wait for Deidara, and as long as that brat remains hidden from either of their sites then Central can't order them. Not unless they get someone that can override Konan's orders." Sasori kept the detail that no one can override her authority to himself. "We will need to warn the others."

"We can't do anything in this storm, no one can move through it," Miles argued back.

"We can't just sit here! Winry is in danger! I'll go tell them." Ed shot back.

An older Briggs soldier spoke up. "You would freeze to death if you think you'll be able to survive going through a storm like this. I don't know anyone that can make it in these conditions..."

"Um, guys…?"

"I don't care! Damn this storm and everyone stuck here if I let Winry get hurt!"

"Guys…"

"I'm just saying the truth, kid. You'll freeze to death just by standing out there with your tiny body not being able to retain heat at all."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING TINY?!"

"GUYS!"

Everyone nearly snapped their necks to look at Alphonse.

"Why don't I go since I don't have a body? I won't feel the cold… besides, Mr. Sasori's already outside waiting and he doesn't like to wait, remember?" Al pointed to the window and true to his words, there was Sasori. The redhead was standing on top of the snow, staring up at them with a glare that was colder than the blizzard, foot impatiently tapping the white ground but never leaving a footprint.

The cogs in Ed's head went haywire as memories pierced themselves back together. Right. Sasori wasn't exactly human. He keeps forgetting that little detail even after seeing his body while in Gluttony's stomach.

"Right… If Sasori goes with Al they should be able to find the others faster…" Ed bit his lip and looked at his younger brother. "Be careful Al, stick close to Sasori in case things get bad."

"I won't let you down!" Al gave the group a thumbs up then ran outside. "Sorry for making you wait."

"I am learning that this is to be expected when working with children." Sasori pulled out another scroll and summoned Hiruko, climbing into the puppet. Al jumped when his voice became gruff. "If something is wrong, you will tell me. This is to make sure I can see in the snow without the worry of an ambush. Let's go."

The duo walked through the snow, Al struggling to see where he was going while Sasori was close behind him. Occasionally, something would hit Al and he would change directions. After the 3rd time, he quickly learned that it was Sasori hitting him because he was straying from the intended path. This went on for a couple of hours, not once has Sasori spoken up the entire time.

"Mr. Sasori, are we going the right way? I can't see anything at all!"

And then, Al's vision went white.

Sasori watched Al reach out to nothing then fall to the ground, gasping. "What happened?"

"My… my soul! It's rejecting my body! Just like Barry said it would! I-I'm running out of time!"

"..." Sasori regarded this new information thoughtfully. "We need to keep going, if this happens again, I'll take the lead. Focus on the task at hand."

"I'm scared, Mr. Sasori…"

Sasori sighed.

Of course, the kid was scared. He was scared during the first year of becoming his own art, scared that his chakra would reject his body. That fear never returned afterward. But Alphonse isn't in that suit by choice or even through the same method, if anything, Alphonse may just be a ticking time bomb.

Gods he misses his partner already, at least if he was going to blow up Sasori can see it coming a country away.

"You are going to be fine, if something happens I will be there to fix it. Now keep moving, I still can't sense Konan's chakra yet."

xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

Hidan took an obnoxiously long swig of his coffee, followed by an equally lengthy belch.

"Is burping by my ear something you need in your daily life, Hidan?"

"Until Kakuzu or Deidara are fucking here you're my substitute."

Itachi didn't dignify that with a response, a warm mug of tea in his own hands. Less than an hour ago one of the Central soldiers tried to order them to do work, Buccaneer stopped the pair stating that they should only take orders from the person "paying them to work".

An hour rolled by and Hidan was on his 5th cup of coffee and Itachi on his 10th cup of tea that day, it was honestly the only thing preventing him from keeling over from using his sharingan. The two had gotten themselves cozy against the metal railing while the Central men were inspecting the Brigg's work ethic.

Hidan finally looked at his temporary partner -boy was that a weird thought- and slowly pulled the cup of tea from the younger man's hands. "Look, I may give shit advice, but you look like well… shit. When was the last time you slept?"

"The night before we came here."

Hidan did some poorly written math inside his head. "Wow... look I know we don't see eye-to-eye like… ever, but you got to sleep." He set down Itachi's and his cups on the floor nearby them and cracked his neck.

"I will sleep when Deidara returns-"

THUNK

CLANG

"Shit man, you really are tired if I can do that!" Hidan let out the highest of nervous laughs which made many of the Brigg soldiers tense up. A quick poke confirmed that, yes, Itachi was just knocked out by a simple blow to the head followed by slamming his currently unprotected forehead on the metal bars.

That also alerted everyone in the room.

"Mind your own fucking business, nothing to see here!" Hidan shouted, waving his arms at the people. "Come on."

With the grace that comes with being Hidan, the Jashinist hooked his arms under Itachi's armpits and dragged the Uchiha away. If the Briggs soldiers didn't know any better they would have thought Itachi was drunk.

To be fair, many of them have had to do that too.

Hidan laid Itachi in one of the beds, not bothering to put him in a comfortable position or cover him up. He has fire chakra, he should be fine right?

"Meh, why the fuck not? He's out cold," Hidan mused to himself and began snooping around Itachi's stuff, finding his scroll. "Heh, bet it's nothing but weapons here- hello there."

On Itachi's scroll was various characters, some of them Hidan could read like clothes or food, but one of them slipped his mind. It couldn't be "fun" as there were too many strokes and the Uchiha's crisp, clean handwriting makes it more difficult to read.

"What do you have there, un?"

"JASHIN DAMNIT!" Hidan threw the scroll out of his hands only to be caught by a familiar blond. "Deidara? When the hell did you get here?"

"This morning, I saw new faces and have been hiding in the vents all day, un." Deidara patted off some dust that was stuck in his hair. "You would be surprised by the idiotic things people will admit when they think no one can hear them. Now, what are you staring at?"

Hidan groaned as his heart slowed down, "I don't know. The bastard is hiding something but I can't read it!"

Deidara rolled his eye and read the scroll. He blinked once, twice, and then a third time. "Hidan you dumbass, this is medicine, un!" The blond chucked the scroll at the albino's head. "And stop snooping around other people's stuff."

"Come on, aren't you curious about what he's hiding?"

"It's first aid and I wouldn't snoop around someone's stuff when they are less than two feet from me, un."

"So you want to snoop."

"You are being ridiculous."

"You didn't deny it."

"... Do you want to eavesdrop on these Central guys? I'll leave some C1s and a note to keep people out of this room, un."

"Fuck yeah, something to actually do!"

Deidara left several clay spiders around the room and a single note on the door saying "DO NOT ENTER! Explosives set to detonate upon entrance. '' With the peace and quiet, Itachi slowly opened his eyes, suppressed a groan and putting away his scroll. Okay, Hidan was right, he needed sleep.

With that, the Uchiha finally slept.

* * *

 **It took me way too long to finally get this done and I apologize for that, I really don't want to abandon this fic and I'm trying my best to give this a proper ending (I've had ideas already set the problems have been putting it on paper). Doesn't help that my love for Naruto has slowly been dying off due to a lack of interest, but oh well, I still love this fic.**

 **For some context on Itachi's scroll, the kanji for fun and the kanji for medicine look extremely similar and Hidan can be an idiot sometimes.**

 **Some news though! While this fic will be continued here, I am posting a Harry Potter fic similar to my first fic "Changing Lives with a Bang!" (so an SI story) on AO3. I don't have a name for it yet as I haven't posted it, but my author name there is SlytherinLife .**

 **As always, reviews are loved and I will see you guys in the next chapter, hopefully it will be sooner rather than later.**

 **Bye!**


	22. There is Always a Price

**Hey everyone! New chapter and some new experiences for the Akatsuki.**

 **Thank you for the continued support of this fic, I have some important information to share at the bottom author's note so please take a peak afterwards.**

 **Warning: Deaths, violence, more somber mood, the Akatsuki do not appreciate what alchemy can do.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own FMAB or Naruto**

* * *

"I'll still never get used to seeing that…" Scar murmured under his breath as he watched Konan flying in the air on paper wings. "I thought alchemy couldn't transform organic matter into non-organic…"

Winry let out a small laugh. "From what I've learned is that they don't use traditional alchemy. I've seen Deidara fly on a white bird from out of nowhere when Ed's pocket watch got stolen."

"Who's Deidara?" Scar asked. But the answer never properly came.

Konan had spotted something, her body shifting at a sharp angle and dived down. The group struggled to catch up in the shin-deep snow, with Scar and the chimera men having the least difficulties.

"Al!" Winry cried out in worry as Al was suspended in the air by an invisible force and right below him was a hunched-over creature with a metallic tail. It took her a second to notice the black cloth that covered the creature had red clouds on it. "An… Akatsuki?"

"Hi, Winry…" Al waved weakly, still suspended. "I kept getting stuck in the snow… so Mr. Sasori had to carry me."

"Sasori?" Winry head tilted like a parrot then she gasped as the creature broke open to reveal Sasori within it, hand outstretched in Alphonse's direction. "What is that?"

"Hiruko," Sasori answered. "A puppet of my own design, perfect for defense and offense." He lowered his hand and Al was gently placed in the snow where the boy collapsed on his metal butt and sunk a good foot.

Konan landed on the snow while the others helped Al to his feet, chakra prevented her from sinking like the others -and preventing her cloak from getting wet- and she gave Sasori a displeased look. "Why are you not with Edward? What happened?"

"Your friend, General Armstrong, was sent to Central and replaced by other soldiers. Deidara, Itachi, and Hidan are still there but if you bring Scar-" Sasori glared at the Ishvalan out of reflex, stunning Konan at the display of emotion, "every Central gun is going to be pointed at you with cries of treason."

"What are we supposed to do then? We're stuck," Jerso moaned in annoyance.

Konan let out a sigh, eyes shifting at the group, the snow, the clear blue sky, anything, and everything and it gave her a headache. She turned to have her back on the group and faced Sasori, "The Akatsuki can clear them out in less than 5 minutes, it shouldn't be too difficult to keep Central unaware as long as we keep one of them alive and interrogate him on protocol…" Konan crossed her arms over her chest, thankful that her hair at this moment didn't fall on her face like she's seen happen to other women. "Hidan would also appreciate it. We will need to inform the soldiers of Briggs on Hidan's religion, less one of them walks in on his ritual- What?"

Konan finally noticed that Sasori was not looking at her, but past her. Looking over her shoulder, the kunoichi witnessed six absolutely mortified faces, one emotionless -Scar- and one Alphonse, who Konan was willing to bet her role as the Akatsuki's second-in-command that he was just as horrified as the rest.

"Are…" Winry started, being the first one of the group to unravel her tongue. "Are you talking about… killing people?"

"Yes."

"Why? We can find another way that doesn't end in people dying, they could be people with families!" Winry protested.

Konan steeled her composure, "They knew the risks when they joined the military, they will die whether you come to the fort or not… I'm sorry Winry, but at this point, I do not see any hope of this not ending in bloodshed one way or another. If we had come here and approached our mission with aggression, maybe innocent people like Hughes and Nina would have lived." She looked away, her body breaking up into paper and Sasori put Hiruko away in a scroll. "Or more innocent lives would have been lost, we will never know. We will meet you all again once we have secured Fort Briggs from the hands of Central."

"Konan, wait!" Winry reached out, but Konan turned into paper, gathering Sasori into the mass and flew high into the sky. The group watched as the red from Sasori vanished with distance.

Too far away for the others to hear, Scar let out a long breath. With that woman gone he could finally breathe without the fear of it being his last. "There's nothing we can do to stop them, they would have their goal finished by the time we even get to Briggs… Come on, I've heard some of my people have taken refuge in the slums of the nearby mountain town."

"But…" Winry stopped when Al rested his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sure they'll do the right thing," Al reassured Winry, but in reality, he was just telling that to himself.

xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

Konan and Sasori landed on top of Briggs where Buccaneer was waiting for them.

"I thought I saw you flying over here, Konan." Buccaneer grinned, flexing his clawed automail. "Things have been on edge, haven't seen the rest of your men since the blond one came back though."

"Well, at least he's returned." Sasori walks inside with the two. "How many soldiers from Central are here?"

"Fifteen." Buccaneer answered, "Most of them are captains like me or of close rank, only one of them has high enough rank and he was placed in-charge of Briggs while the General is gone."

Konan quickened her stride, walking past the taller man, "How swiftly can you get everyone loyal to Briggs in one location and everyone from Central in another?"

Buccaneer stopped walking and watched as the Akatsuki continued to stride down the hallway. A large grin broke out on his face and he gave them a salute. "Give me half an hour! You're going to do something you don't want others to see, huh?"

"Perhaps." Konan stops at a corner, looking at Buccaneer. "I don't think the Major General would appreciate me harming her men by accident. We'll make sure Central doesn't find out about this until the last minute."

"See that you do."

Parting ways Konan and Sasori regrouped with the rest of the Akatsuki. Waiting was the hardest part, especially for Sasori. He decided that now would be a good time to scold his partner for going MIA when his abilities to fly would have been beneficial, and how Sasori had to be flown by Konan to get to Briggs on time. This would have been so much smoother if Deidara had stayed with everyone and not gone exploring and-

"Danna!" Deidara slammed his hand, the back of it, against Sasori's mouth. "Geez, are you my mother or something, un?"

"Close call there, Dei-chan," Hidan commented, which Deidara chose to ignore.

"Anyway, I was scouting up north to see what was going on and there is an unusually large amount of people gathering at the border to the northern country, un."

"How large?" Konan asked.

"At... at least three thousand and counting. I think they're preparing to march here, un," Deidara answered back, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall, a chill running up his spine from the cold metal. "I was going to let Briggs know, but those Central guys took over before I returned…"

A knock on the door set the Akatsuki on their feet. Buccaneer opened the door with his trademark winning grin, "Take the elevator up two floors, they're in the General's room. Couldn't find Vato so be careful if he walks by."

Konan lips twitched upwards for a moment, "Good. Deidara scouted over three thousand men preparing to march down here. I suggest preparing battle strategies with him while the rest of us take care of the little house infestation…" She let out a sigh, looking at the zealot bouncing on his feet. "Take one for your religion."

"Fuck yes! Thank you! Come on bitches, let's go kill some heathens!" Hidan grabbed Sasori and Itachi, jarring them in the movement and dragged them out of the room. Konan followed behind while Deidara went down the other way with Buccaneer to talk strategy.

The walk to Olivier's former office was silent, the only sounds came from the Akatsuki removing and sealing any unneeded clothing, leaving them in their shinobi gear and the sound of Hidan's scythe scraping against the metal like a nail on a chalkboard. No one wanted to speak under the paranoia that any words would alert the Central soldiers and send them into a defensive position.

Standing in front of the door, Konan could hear muffled voices chatting about whatever was to be their last thoughts. She raised her hand and knocked three times. A muffled "Come in" invited them in, and she opened the door and entered with her men.

"Ah, the infamous Blue Rose Alchemist? Your hair gives it away, my dear." The one sitting in the chair -the highest-ranked officer- was either ten years Konan's senior, or people in this world aged ungracefully. Dark brown hair with a receding hairline and a full mustache. Average, nothing to brag about, no indication of being a family man. In fact, every single soldier was of similar age range and a strong lack of wedding bands on their fingers.

Perfect.

"I'm here to relieve you all of your posts." Konan's eyes flickered to a captain who was slowly pulling out his pistol.

"Whatever could that mean? We are here with orders of the Fuhrer." The leader spoke condescendingly, resting his elbows on the desk like it was a physical status symbol. However, he felt an itch on his arm, and when he tried to scratch it he couldn't move his limbs.

"I take orders from the Fuhrer, but my men don't." Konan walked to a corner, standing there with her arms crossed and spread her paper wings out, covering her body in the unfortunate case that blood may fly. "Leave him and one other alive for interrogation."

And their fates were sealed.

Down the hallway, unaware of what was transpiring, Vato went to report an incident when he heard the screaming. He broke into a run, gun in hand and tried to open the door. It wouldn't budge. A kick? Nothing. Vato backed away as the screams of agony and pleading for mercy echoed through his ears. Looking down at the thin gap of the door, crimson liquid pooled out and followed the concrete lines like vines spreading on a wall.

Vato froze when the door opened. The first to leave was Sasori, leading two ghost-white men out of the room. Sasori stopped to look at Vato, gave an acknowledging nod and continued the horrific march. Itachi and Konan were next to leave and the Uchiha quickly shut the door before Vato could look inside. Not like he could see anything, the power was off.

"Wha…" Vato felt a bead of sweat that slowly ran down his neck. He gulped, "What… did you do?"

"We got rid of a pest problem," Konan replied calmly.

"Your eyes!" Vato rushed to Itachi, with shaky hands he placed them on Itachi's shoulders so he could examine his bleeding eyes. "Your eyes are bleeding!"

Itachi blinked, grunting when some blood began to hit his eyes. He placed a hand over one of them and another hand on Vato's shoulder, "Restroom… Please…"

"Rest…? But you need medical assistance!" Vato looked at Konan. "He needs medical assistance, right? Right?!" But he got no response from the woman, just a slightly worried look in Itachi's direction. "Okay… okay… come on, kid."

Vato took Itachi by the arm and carefully guide the semi-blinded man to the nearest restrooms, leaving Konan to guard the doors. He turned on the faucet, steam emanating from the cold water touching the even cooler air and he waited for the water to reach a warmer temperature.

"You don't need to be here." Itachi protested, reaching into his cloak for a scroll.

"And leave you here bleeding out? Pfft, yeah right…" Vato watched Itachi bring out different containers of medication from the scroll. "Need help?"

"I…" Itachi tried to blink again, his eyes becoming sticky and the blood beginning to add a burning sensation. "A white round, three red ones, two yellow… I can wash my eyes."

Vato took the medication and stepped back so the splashing water doesn't touch the concerning amount of pills. He watched as Itachi removed his cloak and hunch over to wash his face. Vato couldn't help but notice how… small the guy was after the cloak was removed. He was pretty sure most of the Akatsuki would have the same effect if they didn't wear cloaks, especially the redhead.

"You uh… have some kind of illness or something?"

"Something." Itachi slashed more water on his face, turning the water on cold and low running so he could flush the blood out of his eyes. "I ran out of my normal pills and had to make some before going to Briggs, the rest are supplements."

"Yeah, I have a buddy who takes these. What do you need so much Iron and Vitamin D for?" Vato questioned, handing Itachi the pills and a towel.

Itachi nodded in thanks and took the towel, drying his face then taking the pills and swallowing them without water. "Reasons…"

"Not something you want to share with a stranger, huh?"

"... Not even with people who are not. Only my partner knows."

"I see, well, let's go back to the Blue Rose Alchemist huh? Wouldn't want to keep them waiting." Vato quickly left the restroom with Itachi slowly following. "So where's the white-haired one that swears all the time?"

"He's still in the room," Itachi said, buttoning up his cloak, returning back to his perceived size and not bothering to look at the door as they passed it. "Please don't ask why."

Vato tilted his head, paling when he heard moaning in the room. "I'd rather not know…"

xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

Three days, three days was all it took for men to appear on the wrong side of Briggs. Central never called the fort even after hours of interrogation and torture on the two surviving soldiers, the lower-ranked one bitting his tongue after the first day. The one that was to be in charge had his throat slit the moment Drachma was spotted, having served his usefulness. Briggs got itself ready, soldiers tested and maintained their weapons, their watchers were more alert and given double ration of coffee. These hyped-up men were what rang the alarm for all hands for battle station.

The Commander of Drachma seethed at the cannon fire. Kimblee told them that Briggs wasn't expecting an attack! There was supposed to be a mutiny within Briggs by now! Where was the victory he was promised by that man?! He had an entire brigade and they were being squashed like rotten fruit! And where are these explosions coming from?!

"Sir!" A Captain rushed to the Commander and saluted. "Company 7 has completely vanished within the ranks, sir!"

"What?!" The Commander yelled in frustration, eyes sharply glaring at another explosion that barely missed another platoon nearby. "How do you lose a hundred men?"

"Reports state that a boy with red eyes and a child with red hair appeared out of the sky and within the blink of an eye everyone was gone! The search party for them hasn't been found either."

"The sky…?" The Commander, thinking his men have gone completely bonkers looked up to the sky and amongst the gloomy grey clouds was a single white bird. The bird -too far away to identify- flew in a circular motion over the army. There was no way Amestris had a bird that large, it had to be over 300 meters in the sky and even the largest bird of prey would have vanished from the naked eye!

The faintest of white, like the bird, fell from the same location as the creature. It grew bigger and bigger as it reached distance and less than 10 meters from the ground the Commander finally realized what fell.

"A… Frog?!"

Before it touched the ground, the frog exploded, sending at least a dozen men into the air and only a few landed in one piece. The Commander paled. Amestris is using animals for their explosives? No… something else, frogs aren't white.

"Shoot the bird…" The Commander mumbled, then his voice barked out again. "Shoot the damn bird down! It has explosives! "

A few men pointed their guns at the bird and fired, but none of the bullets could reach such a height and the cannons were too slow and heavy to aim. If anything, the bird began to fly more flamboyantly, as if showing off its immunity in the air. The Commander finally spotted something when the bird twisted to fly upside down. There was something black, red, and yellow on its back. It was a human!

A human was riding the bird!

The white bird flew low enough for the Commander to finally hear laughter over the gunfire and cannon blasts, it was a male on that bird.

"Looks like Itachi and Danna finished their part, now it's my turn, un. Time to show off my art!"

The Commander tried to shoot the person with his pistol, but the bird flew back into the sky and out of range. He watched the blond poke his head from the side of the bird and drop another object. As this one began to fall, the Commander noticed that it wasn't shaped like an animal, but like the little stacking dolls that are sold in his home country.

About 100 meters from the ground, the doll suddenly increased a hundred-fold and spread out arms that looked like wings.

"Retreat! Retreat-"

From within the air, the last thing the army heard…

"KATSU!"

xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

"Hold your fire!" Buccaneer had yelled to his men when he spotted Deidara fly low to the enemy troops, and has held his automail arm up since then to see what would happen. He didn't expect something that could only be described as a child's toy the size of a house to appear out of nowhere.

The world went silent as did it go a blinding white. Buccaneer covered his eyes to shield from the light but nothing could brace him for the shaking. The whole base creaked and moaned from the strain of the tremor like nothing the man has ever faced.

"W-Woah!" A soldier lost his footing from the shaking, tumbling off the side. His fall was cut short thanks to Buccaneer grabbing the back of the soldier's coat, ripping parts of the fabric with his claws but was the only one to have fallen off the wall. Everyone else either held onto the cannons or were flat on the ground as to not risk losing their balance.

Buccaneer growled and pulled the soldier back over the wall. "Survival of the fittest… but I'll be damned if someone here dies because of a…" He looks to the Drachma army.

Or rather… what was once the Drachma army.

"Bomb…"

A rush of air left Buccaneer's mouth. What was once thousands of men over a mile stretch was now dirt and… not even ash. The snow was melting at an accelerated pace from the heat and not even the metal from the cannons remained. Not a single soul remained.

And above the fort was the white bird holding Deidara, cackling with satisfaction. He enjoyed looking as the Brigg soldier's faces went from confused to awe-inspiring fear at what his art had created. A perfect blemish on this world that would soon to never be forgotten! Oh, if only he had gotten Kimblee within that blast!

Buccaneer's mouth went dry, something stir within his stomach and it took years of willpower and discipline to not vomit on the spot. That kid… within a second… reduced an entire military force into nothing and was laughing about it like an escaped mental asylum.

The grizzled captain, for possibly the hundredth time this month, thanked whatever higher power that existed for not having Fort Briggs be the enemies of these monsters.

xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

"Well I'll be damned, the blondie actually fucking did it…" Hidan whistled, rubbing a hand across his jaw in an attempt to hide the fact it was hanging open. "I'll bet the next thing he makes is a fucking explosion that isn't even an explosion."

"What is the point of making an explosion if there is none?" Sasori sarcastically asked, using his chakra strings to keep the Drachma soldiers still while Hidan and Konan worked on the transmutation circle, the former using a drawing as a reference. "Do we have enough soldiers to make a stone?"

"What the fuck do you call them? A hoard of penguins?!" Hidan threw his arms dramatically to the terrified soldiers. "How many do you think would be needed to make a Jashin-damn stone?"

Sasori rolled his eyes, letting his brown orbs land on Itachi who stoically stood there. The puppet master had an odd feeling, but he brushed it off to non-existing nerves since Itachi has yet to deactivate his sharingans, 'Damn that Truth…'

"This is more than enough for the Akatsuki's goals. The Homunculi most likely have several thousands of souls within their stones," Konan responded, finishing her part of the circle while Hidan was still working on his. "If we had someone with ice kekkei genkai we could have drawn a larger transmutation circle before Drachma could have arrived."

"Deidara would have fucking hated that," Hidan huffed, finishing his drawing. "Shit my foot feels like it's going to fall off from the fucking snow! Hold still Uchiha." He quickly hobbled to Itachi, having lost most of his feeling in his right foot and promptly stomped said foot next to the Uchiha, enjoying the heat from his fire chakra.

"Why did you not use your scythe to draw in the snow?" Itachi asked, still staring at the soldiers with red eyes.

"I-... uh… tsk, shit." Hidan quickly quieted down.

"That is enough everyone," Konan ordered, standing before the transmutation circle and frowning when she noticed the soldiers were beginning to tremble. Seems they finally understood what was about to happen to them. "Nothing personal, it was either this or be obliterated by our explosion expert's experiment."

One of the soldiers, most likely the leader of the Company, spat at Konan's feet. "You bastards won't get away with this! I hope you all suffer for this!"

"By all means, hate me for as long as your soul still has thoughts. I will receive permission from Pein to put a monument to honor your sacrifice for our cause… thank you for not putting us in the position to harm anyone innocent to obtain a stone." Konan raised her hands, glancing at Sasori. "The moment I clap, you release your hold of them. I don't want to risk you potentially being sucked into the alchemy because of your chakra."

Konan's eyes roamed to give one last sweep of the area, satisfied with the only change to the location was Deidara's bird getting closer. Her focus on the bird made the other Akatsuki look at him momentarily and Konan could have sworn she saw Deidara give a double-take, but she let it slide. Slowly, she inhaled. Quickly… she exhaled and clapped.

She could see Sasori's chakra strings release at once, and the hundred Drachma soldiers fall over from a lack of prepared balanced. She slammed her hands onto the circle and it glowed red. Dark, ethereal hands rose from the white ground and many Drachma soldiers within the inner center were already screaming as their bodies began to degrade and become a part of the alchemy. Those that were closer to the edge of the circle began to scramble, trying to escape their eternal prison, only to fall back as crimson liquid burst from their chests, arms, legs, anywhere that steps out of the circle. Itachi and Sasori moved faster than the soldiers could see, slashing any and all that try to escape.

Konan's heart raced, blood pumping in her ears and muffling the screams and cries of agony that came from these men. The human side of her pleaded her to close her eyes, but the shinobi side demanded she kept them open and witness the carnage she caused. Every Drachma soldier, both here and the ones killed by Deidara will never be seen again, their bodies unable to be returned to loved ones' homes to be buried. Their souls will forever be unable to rest.

Yes… this is because of her. All of this blood is on her hands. Would Pein had done the same to obtain a stone? Maybe he would have killed Bradley from day 1, rule Amestris justly until it was time to return home. It doesn't matter, it was Konan that was in Amestris and these were her actions, whatever consequences or rewards that surface in the future are her fault.

The screaming finally stopped, as did the glowing and the ethereal hands. There were no bodies, no blood left within the circle, just a small red stone laying innocently in the circle.

Sasori attached a chakra string to it, giving off the un-puppet-like reaction of gagging when he felt the stone's energy being sent back to him. Quickly, he flicked his pointer and sent the stone flying, where it landed in the palm of Konan's hand.

Hidan sucked his bottom lip into his mouth to bite onto it. His right hand reaching up to wrap loosely around his neck, thumb running over his vein and his left hand tightly clutched his scythe. He examined Konan and briskly walked to her, putting a hand a few inches above the small of her back. "Come on, let's get out of the cold."

Konan kept staring at the circle blankly. With stiff movement, she took the Philosopher's stone and nestled it within the center of the paper rose in her hair, using her chakra to fuse it with her paper. Hidan adjusted the petals to cover the red entirely.

"I'll destroy the circle, Konan," Itachi offered and watched as the others left with no argument. His sharingan spun and he craned his neck at an uncomfortable angle towards Deidara, who remained within his line of sight on that bird. "My sincerest apologies, Deidara."

He cast a genjutsu on the bomber. Nothing serious, just a genjutsu where Konan had made a paper clone and ordered him to return to Briggs. Even at this distance, Itachi could see Deidara's eyes glaze over and he waited for the blond to leave before fully removing all of his genjutsu.

In the center of the circle laid twenty unconscious Drachma soldiers. Itachi had found the search party while walking with Sasori and had used most of his reserved chakra to keep the redhead and every soldier under a genjutsu. Sasori never saw the search party, no one did despite them all standing behind the Uchiha like reanimated corpses awaiting orders. No one except Deidara, but Itachi had put him under the same genjutsu the moment he was within range.

"I'm sorry… You will be avenged when I take my final breath… please do not hate the one who will have you when I die."

He claps his hands.

xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

Konan drank her cup of hot tea with the faintest of shaky hands and was pressed into the sofa as physically possible. Hidan had placed a blanket over her shoulders and he drank a cup of hot chocolate while praying vigorously to his god on the cold, concrete floor. Deidara also had a cup of cocoa, but he was violently shoving his fingers into a lump of clay, only setting the material down to take a sip.

Sasori retreated into Hiruko and hasn't made a peep since. He didn't react when Deidara began to use the puppet's side as a pillow, if anyone was paying attention, they would have noticed Hiruko seem to lean closer to the youngest Akatsuki.

And Itachi was the only one paying attention when he entered the room.

Itachi made himself a cup of tea and took to sitting close to Konan, testing his boundaries and at most had a knee touching hers. Her shoulders relaxed ever so slightly. Itachi took this as a success and sipped his scalding tea.

Hidan opened his eyes, finishing his prayer, and took a sip of his drink. "We gonna talk about what the fuck happened?"

No one said anything. The sound of clay being smushed intensified.

"Seriously?" Hidan huffed through his nose. "We're just going to leave it like that? No one is going to talk about the fucking hands that popped out of the ground? The fact that those bastards were melted into that thing in Konan's hair?"

"What difference does it make, un?" Deidara snapped back, crushing the clay in his hand. "We're shinobi, it's not like any of us earned our headbands not knowing that we'd have blood on our hands one day. Your damn religion is all about killing others!"

"When I kill, it's for my religion, I decide on my own terms how they die. That-" Hidan points in the direction of Konan's head, "that doesn't fucking decide shit! We had no fucking control how much pain they felt and we weren't the ones to give the killing blow. If Sasori hadn't removed his freaky strings we don't even know if those arms were going to drag him into the stone too."

"You were afraid that we didn't know what would happen, un…"

"No shit! I don't care that a hundred heathens are dead, that's a stroll through a garden for most of us. What I care about is that they are technically still alive, but all sharing the same one-bedroom apartment known as a rock!"

The room went silent, all eyes on Hidan.

"What? I pay attention. They're still alive right? You have to use up the whole stone for them to actually die."

Konan reached up and touched the rose in her hair. She could feel the life forces within the red stone. She returned the hand to her tea and took a long, mute drink of her now lukewarm tea. "Yes… they are alive… but they're not human anymore. No more discussing this, what's done is done. The stone is for the Akatsuki and will not be used until we return home."

"Couldn't be any sooner, un…" Deidara mumbled, returning to his clay.

The room fell back into silence until there was an unspoken agreement to retire for the night. Their next course of action would depend solely on what Bradley and Central's next moves would be, but no doubt they will eventually have to return to Central.

Itachi slept facing the wall and his cloak on, a rare occurrence that could be swept under the rug with the excuse that it was cold out. But no, it was to hide. For under his cloak, was the necklace that he has worn since he has joined the Akatsuki. Three metal bands connected to a black string, and welded in the center band is a Philosopher's stone, red like the clouds on his cloak and red like the eyes of his clan.

* * *

 **The Akatsuki have obtained Philosopher's stones and they did not enjoy the making process. Please note that neither Konan nor Itachi plan on using the stone while they are in this world, it is for when they return home to use for their own plans.**

 **Update on fanfiction** **: I will be posting an announcement chapter sometime next week to talk about my plans for this story. I am unfortunately just not enjoying writing this anymore and while I wish I could write this to the end, I'm not sure if I am able to.**

 **Update on Harry Potter story** **: If you are a fan of my "Changing Lives with a Bang!" story I have officially posted a Harry Potter SI story on AO3 (** **Archive of Our Own) titled "Harry Potter and the Reluctant Rebirth" and it covers the first book of the series. My author name is SlytherinLife.**

 **As always, reviews are loved and I will post an announcement next week. Thank you guys for supporting me even if I'm not the most consistent of writers.**

 **Bye!**


	23. Announcement

**Hey everyone, as you know I said in the previous chapter that I would make an announcement as to what the fate of this story will be.**

 **As many of you have guessed, I plan on discontinuing this story. I wrote this when I had a strong love for both Naruto and Fullmetal Alchemist and I also wanted to attempt at writing in third person. This has been the most difficult thing to write as I didn't know how to pick a single perspective and, as a result, it became harder and harder to enjoy writing this. I go through "phases" in terms of what fandoms I enjoy, and right now neither show are anywhere close to that (I've seen FMAB so many times that I'm actually tired of it). At some point I began to think, "This isn't a true crossover, this is just the Akatsuki watching a story" and while I know many of you enjoy this story and I love my story, I don't enjoy writing anymore.**

 **HOWEVER** **I have full intention of posting the epilogue separately so you can at least know how the Akatsuki learning alchemy affected their world. The epilogue should be written sometime either late this month or early next month. When I post it, I will put this story up for adoption so someone can finish it in their own vision, my only request is that they keep the epilogue the same and tell me when they posted and update it so I can read their work.**

 **I will keep this story on my account, but if I decide to go back to this one day and finish it, I will do so on AO3 (I will post an announcement if I do so). My account name is SlytherinLife.**

 **I've made this decision because while I love my readers here, the website has become an ad-filled mess. I've gotten several emails from credit card scammers claiming to be "looking for a good time" and there is nothing to stop them from harassing others. This site also does nothing to protect the authors from people who, instead of leaving constructive criticism, prefer to swear and harass the authors knowing that if they use an account, it is nearly impossible for authors to defend themselves or remove the review. I have seen this too many times and on occasion it has happened to me; And trust me, those words affect authors more than people can understand, especially if it's _every_ chapter.**

 **AO3 gives authors better protection from these kinds of comments and we can directly reply to readers, which I absolutely love so I don't have to have a mile-long author's note.**

 **Thank you guys for supporting me and my writing for this long. It truly did humble me when many of you said you loved the story and I am sorry that I couldn't finish this. I just don't want to be one of those authors that either produces low-quality work because of a lack of passion or claim "my laptop broke" or "I got a new job so update may be slow" and then leave you hanging for a year. I'd rather be transparent with you guys so you understand why I am discontinuing this story.**

 **Again, thank you for your support and I hope that you enjoy the epilogue when I post it, and I can only hope that whoever may adopt this story puts as much (if not more) love and passion into this story as I did.**


	24. Epilogue Part 1

**So... this was supposed to be at most... 4k words. The finished product was over 14k words. I am splitting it into two parts just to break up the length a little bit. The ending was always something I had planned out even from the very beginning, it's just muses decided to pop in and go "Oh hey! Add this!"**

 **Warning: Swearing, violence, character deaths, the usual fun.**

 **TRIGGER WARNING: I want to make this part very clear, there are strong elements of PTSD from the Akatsuki members due to their stay in the FMAB world. This includes flashbacks, nightmares, emotional breakdowns and vague references to suicidal tendencies. Please be mindful of your mental health if you are sensitive to these types of writings.**

* * *

The group collapsed to the ground with harsh thuds face down, the puppet master laying flat in Hiruko. A thousand pressures on a thousand points pressed on the group with familiar, yet terrifyingly different senses. They all let out simultaneous groans with the pain from the final battle merging with the air that was just knocked out of them -the ones that can breathe at least- but still, they laid there. Absorbing the feeling that was slowly transitioning from an unbearable pressure to a gentle caress of home.

Chakra. Oh how they all missed feeling chakra.

It was the Amegakure base. It was the main room. Chakra flowed through the room in ways that the five had taken for granted all their lives. They were home… or… at least what they had to call home.

"Itachi-san?"

Itachi snapped his head up, a wave of emotions flooded into him. Kisame. His tall, powerful, absolutely wonderful partner was standing before the group looking at them with a mixture of concern and relieved to see them all alive. A blue hand reached down and Itachi took it without a millisecond thought, startling Kisame but Itachi soon was on his shaky feet.

"Woah, what happened?" Kisame asked, checking his partner. Dried blood resting on Itachi's face from using his sharingan, the hand he was still holding felt unusual at the wrist, like it had been broken before. Itachi looked like he had to be knocked out several times to even sleep.

In fact, as far as Kisame could tell, everyone looked like utter crap.

"A lot… I'll explain… not here…" Itachi murmured, resting his head against Kisame's arm and refusing to release Kisame's hand for fear of if he was being sent back to that world, he is taking the swordsmen with him.

Kakuzu entered the room next. He spotted Hidan laying flat on the ground and grabbed him by the back of his cloak, throwing him onto his feet like a ragdoll. "So even going to another world is not going to kill you…"

"Kakuzu, you old bastard! Come here!" Hidan threw his arms around Kakuzu's neck, scaring the shit out of the miser as he was being hugged. "I can not wait to tell you all of the fucked up shit we had to deal with that world! There was this guy who was immortal because he fucking sucked up an entire country into his body and he made a bunch of other jackasses called Homunculus and one killed this dude I fucking liked cause he was genuinely a good guy and this drink called coffee and-"

A clap, blue sparks appeared under Hidan and a thin, sharp spike in the same metallic material as the steel flooring shot through the carpet and through Hidan's foot.

"Fuck you, Sasori! I was getting to the good shit!" Hidan yanked his now bleeding foot out of the spike.

"Shut up…" Sasori groaned out. Inside Hiruko, Sasori sat up and rubbed his head for non-existing bumps. He checked his partner and used the scorpion tail to carefully lift up his partner so Deidara was no longer on the ground, but resting against his puppet. He then lifted up Konan and placed her in a chair so she could regain her energy. "I've had to deal with your excessive talking for an entire year, along with other brats, I want peace. If I hear the word Homunculus again I am turning everyone in this room into puppets!"

"They're all dead right, un?!" Deidara suddenly asked through a gasp.

Kakuzu and Kisame exchanged looks when the group before them tensed up, their chakra flaring uncontrollably like they haven't had the ability to regulate them for a very long time.

"Edward took care of Pride… the rest are gone… Same with Father," Itachi said, still not moving from his position, a sudden smirk forming on his face. "Mustang and I took turns dealing with Envy…"

"Heh, careful Itachi," Deidara started, Kisame blinking several times at the fact that Deidara of all people was casually talking to Itachi. "You're talking as much as the rest of us, gotta get back to the Uchihaness now that we're home."

"I will begin that when I am ready…" Itachi went quiet again.

"Oh, goodie! You're all back!" Tobi appeared out of nowhere, specifically nearby Deidara since teasing his senpai was just the best thing ever. "I'm so sorry that I used that jutsu on all of you! I thought it was just gonna make a fireball or something cool like that! Leader-sama has been so worried since you all vanished a year ago-! AH!"

Tobi screamed dramatically when Sasori's scorpion tail lunged at him. It retracted when Tobi was several feet away from the annoyed blond, a low growl emanating from the hunched puppet.

"We already know it was a mission," Sasori said, opening up Hiruko and stepping out. "I should kill you for getting us involved in whatever Leader…" He stopped for a moment, then corrected himself, "Leader-sama wanted from that world."

Tobi waved his arms in a panic. "Now now, no need for violence! Leader-sama wanted to see everyone who can move to report to him, specifically Konan-san if possible!"

The four men immediately turned to stand at attention for Konan, even Itachi who still held onto his partner. Konan slowly pushed herself up from the chair. Despite desperately wanting to go find a hot spring and her futon, she had a report to give and a friend to finally reunite with. Konan glanced at the group that for the last time, would be her men.

"I'll go alone. You four produce your own recounts of the mission after you have rested and regained your composure. We start the hunt for Jinchuuriki soon," Konan started her walk for where Pein would be waiting for her, Tobi following close behind to lead her there.

"Is it just me or did she have more… I guess emotion in her eyes? What else is differe- Err… Itachi-san?" Kisame froze, looking down at his partner.

Itachi was staring intensely at Kisame, eyes flickering over his face. Gills, small eyes, blue skin. Itachi was definitely focusing on the gills.

Then the others joined in.

Kisame soon had Itachi, Deidara, Hidan, and even Sasori examining him like he was a mystery to be solved. Kakuzu, though slightly irritated, slowly backed away as this was one of the rarest sights he had ever seen: Hidan focusing on something that was not his religion.

"Um… can I help you four with something?" Kisame asked nervously. Samehada twitching with agitation from the attention.

"Kisame…" Itachi started, voice as serious as ever and eyes unblinking with never-ending focus. "Are you able to turn into a shark?"

Kisame blinked.

"Maybe it was a good idea that Kisame didn't come with us, un. He'd be shot on the spot." Deidara commented.

"Or fucking sent to a lab." Hidan supplied. "Shit man, would Zetsu count as a chimera? Or do plants not count? Oi, Zetsu! The fuck are you man?!"

"Are you asking what he is or where is he, un?"

"Yes."

Kisame was getting a headache, Itachi had a lot of explaining to do… when he woke up- wait, when did Itachi fall asleep?!

xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

Konan entered the room where Pein was looking outside at Amegakure's rain, the rain he creates. Madara closed the door behind them to avoid eavesdroppers, but Konan paid little mind to that. She walked towards Pein, fast. Fast, long strides that were unusual for Madara to witness, as the woman usually took her time when she moved.

The Uchiha also noticed Konan's entire presence was different, her shoulders were squared, her head held high and each movement felt like it had a purpose to exist. Not even the most disciplined of ANBU moved with such strength.

Pein turned around just in time to have arms wrap around him and a face press against his shoulder, seemingly ignoring the fact that he has metallic rods pierced throughout his entire body.

"Welcome back, Konan…" Pein rested a hand on Konan's back but didn't return the hug. "You seem different."

"Yes… being in charge of four of our members in a new world was strange, but they followed my orders and… there was so much to experience…" Konan let out a sigh, releasing her best friend and taking a step back.

Madara stepped forward.

"What did you discover?" He asked, not paying any mind the apparent tearful reunion.

"You sent us to a world without chakra but there was similar energy in a far-away country, but not to our extent. The country we stayed in was called Amestris… ran by a military-based government. They were both technically advanced but culturally behind us in every sense with their geography preventing them luxuries we have here," Konan explained. She spoke of the Fuhrer, the military ranking, frequently having to stop and try and reword many of the vocabulary as it did not translate well within their language. She spoke of the Homunculus, Father, and above all else: Alchemy.

But the time she spent talking about alchemy, she never brought up the Philosopher's Stone that rested on her hair.

"I took the entrance exam in order to obtain funding and support from their government. I am known as the Blue Rose Alchemist to the people of Amestris…" Konan reached into her cloak, pulling out the silver pocket watch, something she often forgot she had. "This was proof of my status in their military. We spent the majority of our time with the Elric brothers, the eldest being known as the Fullmetal Alchemist for his metallic body parts..."

"Unusual names," Pein commented. "You seem… upset."

"I-..." Konan looked down at the pocket watch, biting her lip. "We saw a lot… experienced a lot… A child I was fond of was turned into a monster by her father… Sasori met the creator of alchemy… the Homunculus were…" She shook her head. "I never wish to return there."

"Show me this technique, this alchemy," Madara ordered.

Konan froze. It didn't come across her mind if she could even teach others alchemy, just to study and master the art herself. Strange how only a year of being away from home, she had gotten used to being the one in charge, the one who could not be touched by higher authorities because her power outclassed them.

Now she took orders from a man who hid behind a mask… how the tables have turned.

Konan pulled out some chalk, not wanting to bother using the symbols hidden throughout her body's paper or use the Stone. She drew a basic transmutation circle on the ground, noting that Madara was watching with his sharingan. She clapped her hands and put them on the circle and in a flurry of blue sparks, she made an angel using the steel floor.

"This is a basic circle, more complex ones can be used for different tasks and can be made anytime, anywhere, with any material so long as it is equal. You are given what you take," Konan explained. "They call it the art of equivalent exchange."

Madara and Pein both drew their own circles in an attempt to recreate Konan's angel, but when the men clapped their hands and touched the circle… nothing happened.

Pein returned to his normal posture while Madara's chakra screamed frustration. The true leader of the Akatsuki tried again but to no success.

"It may not be possible for you… but study my notes." She gave the Uchiha her notebook full of notes, thankfully no information of human transmutation resided in those pages. "As a State Alchemist I was expected to keep notes of my discoveries of Alchemy, many of this is information that already existed since I didn't plan on renewing my license."

Madara accepted the notebook with a subtle nod and began to flip through the page. Konan could see the sharingan flicking with each page turn, memorizing each page. Her own eye twitching at the fact that she spent a whole year trying to learn the math and science behind alchemy, while Madara is learning her work within seconds.

Not even Itachi used his sharingan every time he wished to research.

The Uchiha returned the book and vanished with a swirl of chakra from the point of his eye. The Ame shinobi hear Tobi's voice calling out for Zetsu in the distance to go do a mission.

"Konan, what's that in your flower?" Pein questioned, motioning to the Philosopher's Stone resting innocently in her origami rose.

"A very rare stone from the other world," Konan lied, resting a hand on the stone. The anguish and pain of hundreds of men screamed at her, damning her for their imprisonment in waves of hatred that only she could feel. Konan's face never changed. "I befriended a high ranking military officer, and she provided me the chance to get it as a souvenir."

"It's just a stone?"

"Yes, Nagato… and no, it was not a man who gave it to me. Olivier is a woman," Konan quickly changed the subject and Pein's blank expression slowly formed a small smile. She just knew that in the other location, Nagato was having a rare moment of joyous laughter. "I'll be visiting your main body soon, expect the other four to report later throughout the day."

Both Pein and Konan stepped out into the rain and Pein raised his hands into the air. Like a true god, the rain stopped its downpour and the sun blessed the land of Amegakure. Konan let out a long breath, her senses remembering the land she and her best friend worked so hard to build. Splitting her body into thousands of paper, hiding away the hundreds of alchemical symbols and the Philosopher's Stone in an origami crane, Konan flew off to reunite with the true body of Nagato. Her mind plotting the future of the Akatsuki.

xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

 **Sasori**

This fight is too easy.

This was what Sasori thought as he faced off against his grandmother and that pink-haired kunoichi from Konoha. Deidara has long since flown off somewhere with the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki and Hatake Kakashi chasing after him.

Sasori had the advantage; A hundred human puppets facing against ten normal puppets and one child. It was easy compared to what Sasori had to deal with in Amestris. More so now with alchemy being used as his defence. He used alchemy sparingly. While he could win the battle with alchemy just by clapping his hands and killing the two out-right, this was a battle between puppet masters and the pride of his art was on the line.

If the brat could capture the Ichibi Jinchuuriki without alchemy, he could beat these two without it as well.

That was until all of his puppets were destroyed.

The battle slowly went downhill from there. That Konoha brat was strong and the two were learning to get away from the ground whenever Sasori clapped. Then his main body was sealed against a wall, leaving him in a look-alike body. It was annoying, but he could work with that. The two were weakened by the poison running through their veins and their antidotes could only do so much.

Sasori raised the puppet body, sword in hand and ready to strike down the brat and old hag. He raised his arm, the girl moved, and-

" _Are you sure that is what you want to do?"_

Time paused and Sasori's world went white. Literally.

"So, you did create a gateway here," Sasori stated, an eyebrow twitching. "That Gate you sent me through has caused a lot of headaches for me, you know."

" _Of course, you're feeling emotions again, it's only natural,"_ Truth said with his grin never leaving his otherwise blank face. " _Don't worry, this is but a mere moment in your time while we discuss things here. The mind moves faster than time itself."_

"Why are you stopping me from finishing my attack?" The redhead took a threatening step forward. "I was just about to kill those two when you got in my way."

" _I know all about you, Sasori. Every moment of your life is another story in the lives of every alchemist I am connected to. I know that ever since you were a child, all you ever wanted was to be held by your mother and father one last time… Even before you developed your opinions on art, that is all you ever wanted..."_

"You're avoiding the question. Why did you stop me?" Sasori frowned, looking around for a place to exist out of this. He tried to cancel any chakra in hopes that this was just some sick genjutsu casted by Itachi, but it wasn't.

" _Who said I was the one to stop you? Was it really my voice you heard?"_ With a laugh, Truth vanished and so did

Time resumed and Sasori was still in the same spot that he was before, except now his sword was stabbed into the gut of the Konoha brat. This doesn't make any sense. These two possibly couldn't have known each other up until a few days ago, and the girl is young. Sasori could understand if she was protecting an old teammate or her teacher… but an old woman?

Sasori frowned. "Why would you risk your life protecting an old hag like grandmother Chiyo? Would she do the same for you?"

The girl, that's right, her name is Sakura, gasped in pain, clutching the sword to keep it from moving. "I… won't… let you win! Would you…" A cringe when Sasori moved his arm, trying to twist the blade, "protect that other guy…? Your partner?"

Sasori froze, staring at Sakura with wide, blank eyes. "I have before. If only to prove my art is superior."

 _Lies._

"When you join the Akatsuki, losing your partner is a gamble. You may get a partner better than the last, or one that is worse. Losing Deidara would result in me obtaining a partner that is worse than him."

 _Truth._

"Losing Deidara would mean nothing to me, he's just another brat without any taste in art."

 _Then why did you protect him so many times?_

"I have no emotions, I casted those aside as I did with my human body. Those only get in the way."

 _Yet you were worried when your partner went missing. You were feeling things while in Amestris. You cared about that group._

Shifting his shoulder, Sasori removed the upper half of his arm and pulled away, taking a hidden blade with him and leaping a few feet back. Swiftly, Sasori rushed at the duo, arm poised for the attack and ready to kill these two worthless people-

 _But do you really want to do this?_

'No. No, I don't…'

Two swords drive through Sasori's heart.

'Oh… The Mother and Father puppet…'

Sasori blinked, looking at the swords then the puppets keeping him still. He looked at his grandmother, who controlled the puppets, and the girl who he almost killed if his conscious hadn't stopped him.

"Well done…" Sasori murmured, the pain never reaching his mind. "For beating me… I'll tell you an important piece of information about Orochimaru…" He paused so the women could regain their senses. "Ten days from now I am to meet one of Orochimaru's henchmen, a spy in my ranks, at the Tenchi bridge…"

Sasori frowned, feeling his life being pulled away from his body and he slowly twisted the puppet's head to look at his true body. "... Sorry, Deidara, you'll be stuck with…"

Speaking was a waste of energy, Sasori decided. With what little chakra still remaining in him, he connected to his real body and made the lifeless husk clap. Sakura and Chiyo gasped as they saw the body burst into electric blue flames and Sasori fell to the ground.

He fell… and never moved again.

xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

 **Hidan**

Hidan was certain his very existence was freaking Kakuzu out.

What was once an "I want every fucker possible to sacrifice!" soon became an "I don't care how many you take, just leave one for me to have" and Hidan would almost always trap his target with his alchemy. His quick healing rates resulted in Kakuzu waking up at least weekly to see his partner carving complex circles on his palms, not once complaining about it hurting and often lost in deep thought when looking at his blank palm.

Oh yeah, Kakuzu has definitely been keeping his distance. Perhaps if they communicated more, they wouldn't be in this mess with Konoha shinobi.

'Why the fuck are we dealing with this now? I smell like shit, Kakuzu has his money, I just want to get somewhere to clean and deal that fucking cat away…' Hidan thought bitterly to himself while he drew his ritual circle on the ground. 'Huh… my pentagram does look like a transmutation circle…'

His thoughts were cut off as grey powder surrounded him then exploded.

Hidan let out a wild laugh as his burns translated onto the "cash cow" as Kakuzu refers to the guy. "The ritual has begun! It's time to feel the ultimate pain! It's been forever since I got to fucking use this in a fight!"

"Didn't you have to fight in a civil war or something?" Kakuzu remarked in an annoyed tone, having remembered every broken piece of information Hidan shared or when the zealot talked to Deidara.

"Hold up!" Hidan stabbed himself in the foot to make Asuma fall flat on his face from the pain. "Shit that hurt… For the last time, Kakuzu, it was a coup and I didn't use my jutsu on those weak fuckers because their weapons would have turned me into fucking swiss cheese if I took that long!"

"I have no idea what 'swiss cheese' is."

"IT'S CHEESE WITH HOLES IN IT YOUR FUCKING IDIOT!" Hidan shouted, his eyes flickering to the side. He clapped his hands and a wall of earth sprang up in front of Shikamaru, who was midway moving his Shadow Possession jutsu towards Hidan. "I fucking saw that you punk! It's rude to interrupt adults when they are ranting! Anyway, Kakuzu, I didn't have enough actual foes to sacrifice, and of course, Deidara fucking takes my kill!"

"Shut up…" Kakuzu growled, absolutely tired of his partner's ranting and proceeded to completely ignore him.

While the Konoha team thought that this feud could buy them time to get Asuma and flee, luck was anywhere but in their favor. Kakuzu was fast, and Hidan was blocking each potential escape route with a single clap of his hands.

Hidan laughed as he watched the kid with spiky hair stare at him like he was a new species. Of course, no one could figure out that this was alchemy! It had no chakra and they can't replicate this power even if they tried! This was perfect, and now all he had to do was stab his heart…

An image flashed by Hidan's eyes as he began to drive the pike through his heart. A man with a scruffy beard, holding a small girl in his arms while a woman stood by his side. That man was then lying in a pool of his own blood in a phonebooth, dead from a gunshot wound. Hidan remembered the pain of the bullet entering his own skull, and a brief thought passed his mind.

Was this guy also a father?

Hidan became numb to the jutsu's pleasurable pain rupturing through his body. All he did was stare at Asuma as he slumped over, dying from the wound. Hidan turned his head and saw Shikamaru running towards his teacher with teary eyes… oh… that might be the case.

Leader was summoning them, but Kakuzu wanted the body. Konoha reinforcements came to the scene and Hidan didn't say anything as he and his partner fled. A single drop of water landed on his nose, then another on his bare shoulder. By the time they found a safe spot to meet up with the other Akatsuki for the sealing, it was down pouring.

This only made Hidan more numb.

Hidan's hologram appeared on his designated finger on the Gedo statue, as did everyone else. He scanned the holograms, looking for red eyes and ponytails. He found who he was looking for once everyone arrived and spoke up before Leader could.

"I think I pulled an Envy…" While half of the Akatsuki didn't understand the reference, as Hughes did not make the report, the other half did. "Itachi, did you know any bastard named Asuma?"

"Yes, he is a jonin in Konoha…" Itachi blinked slowly, "Last I checked he was in a relationship with a fellow jonin named Kurenai."

"Right… well, I killed him," Hidan said, ready to perform the sealing jutsu. Hidan began to block out Leader's speech about sacrifice, how the Akatsuki's goal would change the very nature of the shinobi world and blah blah blah- "You know... my religion is based on death and destruction, and I love killing, but when all I have are flashbacks of watching the father of a little girl have his brains blown out because he knew too much, I find your speech a bit pretentious."

The room went silent but Hidan snorted and went back to focusing. Yeah, he can choose to not swear when he wants and right now he wanted Leader to shut his pale trap and get this over with.

Three days and three nights came and went and finally, the Nibi was sealed in the statue.

"Let's go, Hidan. I want that cash cow even if I have to take him from his grave," Kakuzu stated once his concentration from the jutsu broke.

"Hey, Hidan," Deidara called out from his stand, "Come find me once you're done with your work. We can talk about the shinobi then, un!" With that, the bomber fizzled out.

"Senpai has been so much nicer lately, it's great!" Tobi also fizzled out after making a comment that struck nerves with Hidan. Deidara was nicer because he knew what Hidan was thinking, not because he was generous!

Hidan broke the connection and cracked his neck, "Stupid jutsu… stupid staying still for three days my heathen-hating ass… stupid everything…"

"Stop talking about yourself, Hidan." Kakuzu chucked his partner's headband towards him and began walking, "We need to go find the body."

"What if they cremate their dead?" Hidan questioned, putting the headband back around his neck and ignoring the insult his partner threw at him.

"They don't, otherwise they wouldn't have such large cemeteries."

Hidan rolled his eyes and follows Kakuzu until they got to a wasteland, dead pale trees, and brown earth with a slight reddish tint. Something felt… off to Hidan, it was too open for his liking and too close to Konoha for it to be unguarded. There was also no place to run. He pulled out a knife and began to carve a transmutation circle onto his palm, wincing at the slight burning pain from the blade.

'Come on you fucking idiot… why does this seem familiar? Didn't something similar happen in Amestris?' Hidan crossed his arms, ignoring the weird look from his partner and he looked up to the bright blue sky which clashed heavily with the desolate wasteland. 'Let's see… Open exposed area with no place to run or hide… oh right!'

First shadows began to move, then explosive tags were thrown… then Konoha shinobi appeared.

"Shit, this is just like how we ambushed those Drachmash-whatever at Briggs!" Hidan slammed his fist into his hand, grinning brightly while everyone else was staring at him like he developed three heads and seven arms, "Damn, I wish we had invited Deidara to this, he took care of that entire army without any help!" Hidan jumped onto a tree when another explosive tag was thrown at him, trying to keep himself in places where the shadow can't reach him.

"Shut up, Hidan…" Kakuzu growled, mimicking his partner's maneuver, "I'm tired of you constantly prattling about these places."

Hidan scoffed, grabbing his scythe and aimed it at Shikamaru, "I couldn't care less, Kakuzu, my brain finally figured it out and I'm having a moment…" He breathed, slowing his heart rate and he focused exclusively on the teen. "Can you handle the others?"

"Go for it, don't blame me if you get killed..."

"If guns can't kill me, these shits can't!" Hidan charged forward while Kakuzu diverted to the side. 'Just picture I'm fighting that asshole Pride… just avoid the shadows… get to a place without light…'

Hidan swung wildly at Shikamaru, trying to keep as close as possible while pushing the teen back. Kakuzu was busy fighting Kakashi and the fatso with the bitch… why are they here? "Your teammates are fucking useless, you know? You're just going to throw their lives away because of your teacher? Is that how Konoha shinobi function?"

He swung his scythe, the blade reached closer and closer until Hidan could see his own reflection in the teen's terrified face.

And in turn, Hidan saw a young man with long green-almost black hair and a maniac grin.

The blade stopped just before it could chop off the head of its intended victim and Hidan backed away, silently cursing to himself. Damnit, why did he have to go soft now of all time? The zealot growled deep in his throat as Shikamaru broke into a run and Hidan followed suit.

Hidan followed Shikamaru into a wooded area, tall trees were almost no sunlight touched the ground. In a way, this was perfect as the lack of light should mean no shadows, right? Hidan would give an occasional mock swing at the teen to keep him on his toes. But out of nowhere, Hidan stopped in his tracks, satisfied that it was dark enough to talk.

"Hey, kid, I have a question to ask you." Hidan waited for Shikamaru to realize that he wasn't running anymore and stopped, keeping several meters between the two of them. "That guy, Asuma, was he a father?"

Hidan didn't like the look in the kid's eyes.

"Look, I swear a lot so don't take my insults personally, everyone is a bitch or a bastard to me. Itachi told me that Asuma was in a relationship with some bitch named… what was it? Kurenai? I think that's her name," Hidan readied his scythe when he felt the kid have intense, protective bloodlust. "Anyway, the idea of the bastard being a father has been bothering me for the last three days and I wanted to know if it was true or not."

"Why should I tell you? You want to kill Kurenai-sensei too?!" Shikamaru barked out, a different tone compared to his lazy drawl.

"About a year ago," Hidan completely ignoring the question, "me and some other Akatsuki members went on a mission. It was a fucked-up one at that, and we met this guy. He was fucking annoying, always showing off pictures of his little brat and wife to anyone with eyes… but I'll admit the guy was a smart bastard and loyal as shit. He figured out shit that we were still trying to figure out. Can you believe it?"

Shikamaru's body began to be less tense as he realized Hidan was not about to attack at the moment. In fact, he began to keep track of everything Hidan was saying. The Akatsuki did go silent for an entire year with very few sightings of any of the members, and if they did the known partnership the Akatsuki followed was completely unorthodox from previous intel.

"One night I saw him and he was in a booth used to send messages. There was this asshole who could transform into anyone he wanted… and he turned into the guy's wife and killed him," Hidan scratched the back of his neck. "I don't know why the fuck I'm telling you this shit, but you seem like the kind of kid who's brain actually works. It's just been bugging me because your teacher gave off similar vibes to the other guy and I was curious."

"Would you have killed if Asuma-sensei was a father?" The question came off more like a hiss, threateningly.

"It goes against my religion to give that a straight answer. All I can say is that if I wasn't the one to kill him, Kakuzu would have. The old bastard is obsessed with money more than I am my religion -if you can fucking believe that- and your teach had a lot of money on his head." Hidan answered, tightening the grip of his scythe. "So… I'm going to keep fighting you and try to kill you, but know that… I somewhat regret that decision."

Shikamaru blinked, and Hidan charged.

The fight went on like a blur for Hidan, things moved too quickly for him to comprehend what was actually happening. But he understood that eventually, his body was blown up by enough paper bombs to make Deidara giddy and rocks were covering him. And he was fine with this. He served his god well, and if he survived or be reborn, he was going to rip this world apart until blood turned the soil red.

" _Wow, even in death you are violent."_

Hidan blinked. His surroundings were completely white and in front of him was some pale guy who grinned at him like he was an all-you-can-eat buffet. Wait, he died?

" _Your body could not sustain your head any longer, so your soul was stripped away for a quicker end. Hello, Hidan. My name is Truth, I am the world. I am also known as God-"_

"Who the fuck are you and where the fuck is Jashin-sama?!" Hidan yelled, he reached for his scythe to strike this freak down, but he didn't have a single weapon on him. "Fucking send me back unless I get my deity talking to me you white-ass shit-faced dickless heathen! I should sacrifice you as my last offering to Jashin-sama for even showing your eyeless face to me! I refuse to even listen to a word you have to fucking say!"

For once, Truth's mouth hung open and his shoulders slacked immediately.

" _If you would let me finish-"_

Nope, Hidan was having none of this.

"Lalalalala~ I can't fucking hear you over the sound of my own fucking voice!" Hidan loudly shouted to the empty voice. "I was just having a fucking fun battle with some kid and had a heart-to-heart with him when you showed up! You're not fucking real~!"

" _I'm trying to-"_

"I'M NOT LISTENING~! GO SUCK A BIG ONE~!" Hidan started to walk away. He made every obnoxious noise possible so that his mind wouldn't be poisoned by this heathen being. But not long, he found himself in the same spot as before.

 _"Alchemy,"_ Truth finally gave up giving his big, important, eye-opening speech to these Akatsuki. _"I am the one who brought alchemy to the other world and allow the five, now four, of you to use it."_

"Yeah, I fucking know that! You practically piss the vibes I get whenever I fucking used alchemy. You even look like the asshole Sasori had described to us! Now where the fuck is Jashin-sama?"

" **Right here.** "

From the other side of the massive alchemy door walked out a hulking figure that looked both man and beast. Monotone dark skin wrapped tightly around muscles larger than Hidan's head with curved horns and a face that looks like an animal skull. His limbs were decorated with white tattoos similar to, in Hidan's mind, the ritual tattoos that appear when he uses his jutsu. The telltale sign of who this creature-like man was the piercing red eyes with pupils in the shape of the Jashinist pentagram.

"Holy shit…" Hidan breathed out in awe.

Jashin stared down at the zealot without a hint of emotion or thought. The god grabbed his follower by his jaw and yanked him closer so that the two were now staring eye-to-eye. Even now, Hidan was still breathless.

Jashin snorted.

" **I knew I was right in picking you…** " Jashin rasped, his voice like a thousand echos on a thousand crater walls. " **I will allow you to see a form I am rather comfortable in because of your devout nature, Hidan.** "

Darkness slithered up Jashin's body until he began to shrink in size, still holding Hidan in place -who did not seem to mind in the slightest- and changing form. In the place of the monstrous beast, Hidan felt like he was staring at his own shadow.

In front of Hidan was… well… Hidan. But this one was twisted, demonic. Dark skin that felt like tightly gathered leather and left to turn grey. Hair that far surpassed his own with wild, unkempt spikes framed the face. Clothes became something not too different from what Hidan would wear pre-Akatsuki time, except this man had a shirt on. The only things left were the large horns and pentagram eyes.

" **Much better. I prefer taking on forms that represent my most devoted followers,** " Jashin commented, casually throwing an arm over Hidan's shoulder. " **Now, let's go back to my domain and plan out your reincarnation, I have a few words in mind that I think would benefit from you spreading my word…** "

Hidan's face lit up like a tree set on fire. "Fuck yeah! Let's do this shit, Jashin-sama!"

Jashin opened a dark vortex and began to lead Hidan through it. Before stepping through, Jashin turned his head to Truth, grinned with his teeth showing, and then stick out his tongue. The duo stepped through the vortex and their entire beings vanished from the world the zealot once called home.

Left behind, Truth's large grin turned into a sour frown, a shiver running up its non-existing spine which made it shutter.

"The things humans will create with their will…"

xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

 **Deidara**

"Deidara-senpai! Could you please teach me alchemy?" Tobi asked for what seemed to be the millionth time to Deidara. Every chance he gets he asks Deidara to explain the science, the logic, the technique. But each and every time Deidara would respond with…

"For the last goddamn time, Tobi, I am not going to teach you alchemy, un!"

And then proceed to clap his hands, pat his clay pouches -which have his favorite circles sewn on them- and send off an overly colorful and loud explosion towards his partner.

Deidara was certain he uses his newfound abilities more often than the others, which was any time he had the chance now that Tobi was his partner. There was always something… inherently wrong using his alchemy when Sasori seemed to physically refuse to use it unless under dire situations. Nothing really could stop the emotional baggage that came from the Amestris revolt, the people that were killed during that year… just feeling like actual people and not wanted criminals in general. Nothing could stop that baggage that stuck with them, especially when all the artists had was each other. A puppet trying to shut down emotions threatening to return, and a teenager who barely understood his own emotions. Hidan, Itachi, and Konan had other partners to feel normal… they didn't. They just had each other.

But with Tobi as his partner… as annoying as the guy was… Deidara stopped having nightmares about being stabbed in the chest by a woman, about psychotic men claiming to do explosions better, about Konan vomiting because a father transmuted his little girl into a brainless monster...

The nightmares just gradually ended, like Tobi's energy was sapping the negativity from the bomber.

But then Hidan was pronounced dead. Followed immediately by the announcement that Sasuke killed Orochimaru.

Deidara sat on the ground after disconnecting from the meeting, head bowed to the point where his head was in between his knees and his ponytail weighing him down. He cupped his hands over his mouth and nose and took a deep breath. Okay… Now Hidan was dead. He didn't care that Kakuzu was dead but the fact another one from the mission was gone too… who was next? Who would be the next to die?

"Well, Senpai, what's the plan?" Tobi inquired after a solid minute of quiet. "You seem pretty upset."

If Sasuke is on the move… the one that would die next would be...

"Tobi…"

"Yes?"

"We are going to go find Itachi, un," Deidara decided.

"Eh? We are?" Tobi jerked back dramatically, which Deidara didn't see as he was too busy breathing. The blond shoved a hand into his clay pouch to begin making birds. "I thought you hated Itachi-san?"

"Things change, you learn a thing or two about people, especially when you are assigned to work with them… He's not a bad teammate, un." Deidara slowly, almost painfully gets up and his palm mouth spits up the birds. "Look, if you want to stay behind be my guest, but I'm not going to lose another one."

A knot twisted in Deidara's gut for a split second. It was short-lived, but enough to have him ready to clap, a raw, animalistic desire to survive and get away from danger came over him and then left.

And that feeling came directly from Tobi.

'Huh? What was that… I have to be tired. Tobi, of all people, threatening? What an absolute joke. Maybe I should find Itachi's kid brother instead, show off my art to the kid, possibly kill him, and maybe use his corpse as bait for the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki?'

Wait, what was Deidara even thinking?

"What if we encounter Itachi's brother, or the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, senpai?" Tobi asked, leaving his hands into the air while he shrugged. "I don't think Leader would like it if we avoided the latter."

"We'll deal with Sasuke if we encounter him, and while I would love to get back at Kakashi for taking one of my arms I'm not stupid enough to engage him. If I wouldn't willingly fight Scar without the support of others, I sure as hell am not going to deal with someone with twice his speed and battle prowess, un." Deidara reasoned, hopping onto his designated bird, waiting for Tobi to hop onto his own.

"Who is Scar, senpai?"

"You know, a lot of your stupidity would be fixed if you had gotten dragged along with us, un…" Deidara avoided answering the question. How do you even explain the attempted genocide of an entire race to someone who compares your art to stupid clay pottery? Absolutely impossible. "All you need to know is all Scar had to do was grab your face and you're dead, now let's move out."

The birds kicked up into the air and flew off in the general direction Deidara assumed Itachi would be at. Sure, he didn't take much time to learn about Uchiha's history, but Deidara could have sworn he learned about an Uchiha stronghold in this direction. This was also the direction the Konoha shinobi were reportedly heading towards so it was fair game to assume he should go this way too.

Guess luck was not on Deidara's side today, for who should he encounter but none other than Itachi's kid brother, Sasuke.

There they had a minor standstill, which Deidara's greeting to the teen was two explosive birds to the face -damn kid left that unscathed- and in return had two bright red eyes staring back at him.

"Huh… You know, considering what I have seen I was expecting more…" Deidara paused, eyeing the kid up and down while trying to figure out what vocabulary was appropriate and would not result in Itachi setting his head on fire.

"Muscles?" Tobi quipped unhelpfully. Now Sasuke just looked annoyed.

'What was Tobi expecting? Major Armstrong? Maybe I should find that jutsu and throw Tobi into that world just so he's not so annoying…'

"Clothes, un." Deidara watched Sasuke's eye twitch and he could have sworn his partner's eye twitched too. "What? The kid is more exposed than Hidan and whenever Itachi pretended to be him, he always made sure to be as covered as possible."

"What did you just say?" Sasuke demanded, tomoe's spinning in his eyes. With neck-breaking speed, he suddenly appeared before the Akatsuki duo and attempted to strike. Deidara jumped away in time but Tobi got "sliced" through and collapsed to the ground. "What has Itachi been doing?"

"It's a long story, one I doubt you'll sit down long enough to listen, un," Deidara muttered out, rubbing his face. "Oh well, I'm here to give you two options: Either you stop your search for Itachi, leave him alone, and go find your Konoha friends… or I will kill you here with my art, un."

Sasuke charged at him with chidori but got tripped up by Tobi sticking his foot out. Sasuke stared at the masked on in confusion. When did his partner get up?

"I warned you, un."

So the fighting began.

At first, Deidara was just toying with the youngest Uchiha, letting his C1's fling about to get used to Sasuke's fight pattern. But a thought occurred to him while fighting: The lightning chakra is disabling his bombs. This was going to be a headache to deal with then. Tobi has almost no fighting talents besides things occasionally phasing through him -what a weird ability- and if Deidara didn't fight smart, he'll run out of chakra and clay.

"Tch…" Deidara grumbled something under his breath and he pulls out a piece of paper and a pencil which made Sasuke halt in confusion. The bomber began to slink behind his partner, putting the paper on Tobi's back and began to sketch out of Sasuke's view. He drew a transmutation circle. A six-pointed star made of two triangles, a single dot in the center caressed with a crescent moon all wrapped in a large circle. Deidara made sure not to clap his hands while he finished and handed the paper to Tobi.

"I'll provide the material, get the basic shape of it, un."

"I've never seen this shape before!" Tobi exclaimed cheerfully, pocketing the paper and then laughed at Sasuke. The teen's eyes were wide with curiosity, neck slightly craned out in the hopes of seeing what his opponent just drew and his whole body reminded the duo of a child trying to peak at his father's study.

In short, a very un-Uchiha expression.

"Say, kid, did you ever notice that news from the Akatsuki suddenly stopped for a whole year, un?" Deidara asked, clasping his hands -mouths full of clay- together, no sparks coming from his hands… yet. "I've always found it odd that none of the people we've fought have questioned it."

"Why should I care about that?" Sasuke asked, returning back to his blank, Uchiha expression that made Deidara just want to hit him upside the head.

"Well, since you have such an unhealthy obsession with your brother I would have assumed you'd care… He's stronger than you would ever believe and it's all because of that year, un." Deidara unfolded his hand and a massive clay dragon poofed beside him and Tobi. It unfolded its wings like a hatchling, shiny and new. The dragon's tail absorbed a segment and dozens, at least a hundred, of round bombs were spat out. "Tobi when you are done you are to get out of here immediately. Do. not. stay, un."

"Right-o, partner!" Tobi saluted Deidara, who jumps onto the dragon and takes off into the air.

All the blond was doing was being a distraction for Sasuke. Homing missiles in the shape of the world's cutest fat dragons flew at Sasuke and would violently explode at every opportunity. Sasuke was quick, and that quickness was the only thing keeping him from getting killed as the dragons refused to get close enough to be hit with chidori.

Needless to say that Sasuke was struggling.

Tobi's popped out of the ground like a jack-in-the-box and waved to Deidara while running away. "All set up, senpai! Do your thing!" He vanished through the treeline and out of Deidara's sight.

Deidara smirked and reached up to his ponytail, speaking loud enough for Sasuke to hear him. "You see, Sasuke, your brother, several other Akatsuki members and I all obtained unique techniques that you can't copy with your special eyes!" He pulled out the string used to keep his hair up and began to yank his golden locks back into a high, uneven ponytail so that his entire face was exposed. "I'm going to show you what I learned during my studies, un."

Deidara grinned madly, opening his closed eye. The pupil shrank and the world deformed around him but Sasuke remained in the same spot as before. Deidara clapped his hands like a prayer and the earth below him glowed blue. Another missile was sent to Sasuke when he tried to run in the same direction as Tobi and even more surrounded him. Deidara's dragon began to fly higher and higher into the sky, nearly kissing the clouds with its flat snout.

"News flash kid! I lost a partner and a friend because neither one of them would use this technique freely…"

Bright blue sparks danced around the ground, not electrical nor chakra, but pure energy. Deidara grinned as he saw the transmutation circle that surrounded Sasuke. Perhaps Kimblee's alchemy had its usages… occasionally.

"I'm not losing another one. Not to some brat, un."

 **Elsewhere**

Naruto, Hinata, and Yamato had finally stopped talking to that weirdo Kabuto when a shockwave hit them at full force. Yamato used his wood style to keep three of them and Kakashi's dog from being sent flying and also to cover them from the blast.

High in the sky, they saw fire and smoke dome out. It was the size of a mountain and a half and possibly just as wide. The sound deafening as the explosion spread out in the far, far distance but the size would make one believe that it was right there. They remained there, paralyzed and watching the fire dissipate until only smoke remained.

"We have to investigate that!" Naruto shouted out, running as quickly as his legs could carry him. Hinata and Yamato ran behind him while Kakashi's dog began to bark out, his voice carried through the trees to call for the others. They ran further and further into the forest until Naruto began to see a clearing covered in smoke. He would have ran out had it not been for Yamato using his jutsu to grab Naruto's leg.

"Do you not see the crater?!" Yamato pulled Naruto back so the kid doesn't break his neck from falling.

The crater had to be at least twelve kilometers wide and at least 4 deep but the smoke made it impossible to actually tell. Yamato scanned the area, hoping to learn who could have done such damage when he heard it; laughter.

He looked up, along with the two teens and canine, and see a white dragon slowly fly lower. Yamato could faintly see a figure standing on the dragon, and as far as shinobi records go, only Deidara of the Akatsuki made explosives and had them take on the forms of animals. Did this kid really make an explosion this big? What if the Akatsuki used him against Konoha?!

Yamato grabbed Naruto and held him back as the dragon flew off, vanished in a puff of smoke and a smaller bird took its place in the sky. It nosedived into the trees and disappeared from sight.

* * *

 **The second half of the epilogue will tell Itachi and Konan's experience with the timeline. Hope you enjoyed this!**


	25. Epilogue Part 2

**Same warning as before, except now there is no more Hidan, so any new swears are because everyone has a bit of a potty mouth.**

* * *

 **Itachi**

Despite what he was told, Itachi knew that Sasuke had survived Deidara's… ahem… protectively explosive reaction to his possible death. He was touched by the blond's protectiveness towards him and completely understood his reasoning… but Itachi felt like he needed to give Deidara a long talk about all of this.

If he survived the fight he was currently having with his brother.

Itachi was short of going easy on Sasuke as his brother was relentlessly attacking him. Itachi hadn't taken his medication for the last several days and his vision was fading, but even with these drawbacks, Sasuke was still struggling to keep up with him. Itachi wasn't even using his alchemy.

No, if he used alchemy at any point, Sasuke could very well die. This was a fight to make Sasuke prepared to return to Konoha a hero and avenge their clan… and also keep Madara far away from Sasuke.

All Itachi is hoping is that Sasuke takes the Philosopher's Stone when he dies... that stone should allow him to use alchemy… it better.

Itachi felt pride swell in his aching chest. Sasuke had invented such a powerful jutsu from a secondary chakra nature just for this battle. Sasuke finally surpassed him, he could die knowing that his brother would be all right… he just needed to do one last thing.

Itachi slowly walked towards his brother, Susano-o sending shockwaves of pain after pain into his body with each step to where for the last few steps he deactivated it. He reached his hand out as Sasuke stared at him in complete fear, trapped behind a wall and no more chakra left to defend himself. Itachi reached for his brother's face…

And poked his forehead.

"Forgive me, Sasuke… this is it," Itachi rasped out weakly, letting his bloodied hand run down Sasuke's face and collapse on the ground and the world going dark.

Sasuke remained still, staring at his brother's smiling face as rain pelted down on both of them. The world slowly began to spin and he too collapsed on the ground beside Itachi. But as his eyes began to close with his body finally relaxing, he spots something white flying above them… and getting closer. Suddenly, he didn't feel like passing out anymore.

"Itachi!" A male voice came from the bird, Deidara's form leaping off of it and landing by the Uchiha brothers. Deidara made an effort to stomp with his full weight on Sasuke's stomach, earning the blond a bloody cough from the teen. "Tch, of course, you survived that damn explosion, un."

Deidara knelt down beside Itachi and Sasuke watched the blood examine his brother's body with frantic hands, checking for a pulse or physical reaction by slapping him across the face.

"Come on… you can't die now…" Deidara began to give chest compressions to Itachi, panicking as medical ninjutsu was never his strong point. "Think think think… need to get his heart started again, think- Oh… Itachi, you sneaky weasel, un."

Deidara grinned and reached for Itachi's necklace, easily plucking the bright red stone and holding it delicately between his pointer and middle finger. "This will do, un." Letting his right palm mouth carry the stone, Deidara clapped his hands together.

Bright red sparks flew out around the blond and he puts his hands over Itachi's chest and head. The energy from the Philosopher's Stone sparked through and began to repair damages done to Itachi's body. Wounds began to heal, blood pumping through his veins and neurons of the brain sped through his body to alert every cell that it was not time to die yet. Deidara also discovered a nasty little disease sitting happily in the Uchiha's lungs and promptly decided that he was going to evict the freeloaders right away.

Itachi began to breathe again. His eyes remained closed and his pulse weak, but a few pokes determined that Itachi was not going to die again.

Deidara kept the Philosopher's Stone inside his palm mouth for safekeeping, sensing killing intent nearby. He carefully helped the weakened Uchiha to his feet, wrapping an arm over his shoulder and began to drag him away to the bird.

"Sasuke…"

Deidara stopped, looked at Itachi, then looked at the conscious teenager lying on the ground. He looked back at Itachi, noticed his eyes were barely open and proceeded to let out an "I am so done with these guys"-type groan.

"I am not treating the kid nicely, un," Deidara proclaimed loudly in Itachi's ears, who did little more than giving a weak smile. The bomber groaned again and reached down and grabbed the front of Sasuke's stupid excuse of a shirt and not-so-gently hoisted him half up. "This kid is wearing less and less every time I encounter him."

Deidara reached his bird and while he waited for the creature's mouth to open he began to look at his surroundings. Something inside him froze in fear when a figure swirled and left behind nothing on distant a rock, he could have sworn he saw orange.

Deidara didn't waste another second chucking Sasuke into his clay bird's gaping maw and had it clamp shut on the boy. He'll be safe in there. He then quickly jumped onto the bird, letting Itachi rest in front of him and took off to find a safe location.

In the far distance, Deidara heard a tree blow up. Funny, he didn't recall sending anything over there.

Xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

When Itachi woke up, all he felt was pain. It was not agony… more like a soreness that wouldn't go away. He took a long, slow breath and marveled at how clear his lungs felt. There was no pressure, no rumble in his chest. In fact, his eyes never felt better as he stared at the dark cave ceiling…

Wait… why wasn't he dead?

Itachi slowly sat up, barely able to support himself halfway and his eyes locked on a figure with their back turned to him. The figure was male with blond hair tied back into a familiar braid and wearing black clothing… the figure clapped their hands and Itachi watched blue sparks form.

"Ed?" Itachi called out.

The figure turned, instead of the expected golden eye, he saw one bright blue eye and the other closed shut. Nope, not Ed, definitely not Ed.

"Oh, good I was worried I was still recognizable, un." Deidara stood up, brushing off the dirt from his pant legs and approached the Uchiha with fresh bandages.

"How…?"

"I used the Philosopher's Stone to restart your heart and remove the disease that was killing you…" Deidara reached over and began replacing the bandages on Itachi's forearm. "Why didn't you tell us about your lungs? I'm sure Hoenheim would have been more than willing to heal you, un."

Itachi sighed.

"Kisame knew… as did Edward… and Riza…"

"Meaning by the time we left the entire upper branch of their military knew, un," Deidara muttered bitterly. "Of course, stupid Uchihas and not communicating, no wonder your clan is nearly extinct. I made sure Kisame knew you were alive, but I didn't tell him where we were just in case he blabbed to ears that shouldn't hear. Your brother is fine by the way, I have him tied up and unconscious over there."

Deidara pointed to Itachi's left and said Uchiha looked. Sasuke was laying on his side facing the duo. His arms tied tightly behind his back and his legs bound with thick cords that had the mark of alchemy all over them. Sasuke's entire body was covered in both bandages but also more chakra seals then Itachi has ever seen on a single person -that was not a Jinchuuriki- in his life.

He was also wide awake, his eyes a mixture of immeasurable rage and primal fear.

"Huh… he was unconscious an hour ago, un…" Deidara shrugged non-committedly and proceeded to give Itachi some water from a canteen. He stood up once Itachi had enough and went over to Sasuke. "Come on, your brother just drank from the same thing, if I wanted to kill you, I would not use Sasori's method of poisoning, un."

Sasuke was reluctant to accept the water, causing Deidara to force most of it into the teen's mouth just to make sure he was hydrated. After some sputtering and squirming, Deidara gave up trying to give Sasuke water and instead made him sit up against the wall.

"Now…" Deidara slammed his hands on his hips, he could tell Itachi was still hanging onto the fact that the blond was wearing a braid that showed off his entire face. "I am going to sit over there," He points to a wall far away from the brothers, "and make more clay. You two are going to talk through your damn issues, un! And don't expect your Philosopher's Stone back until I am satisfied either." With that, Deidara walked to his designated spot and began drawing transmutation circles.

Itachi felt his mouth go dry and his voice remained silent. This was not how he planned things to go. He was supposed to die, Sasuke was supposed to inherit his mangekyou abilities and the Stone then return to Konoha. He should have seen the possibility that Deidara or Konan would try to keep him alive… that there were people that didn't want to see him dead.

Itachi sighed.

"Sasuke, I-" He stopped, unsure where to start. Sasuke never broke eye contact, even when Itachi himself looked away. "Where shall I start?"

"Start with the truth," Sasuke growled out, he would be strangling Itachi right now if it wasn't for the binds and gaudy amount of seals littered around his body.

"You would never believe the truth even if I said it to you," Itachi said, his body tensing up when he felt Deidara beginning to glare daggers at him. "And I lack evidence."

"Just say it!" Sasuke's voice broke into a yell. "I can't move anyway so you might as well take your time trying to squirm your way out of this!"

And so, Itachi told the truth. How the clan was restless and were planning to stage a coup against Konoha, how Shisui and he were the only ones that wanted to prevent a civil war… and how he had to watch his best friend die because of Danzo. Itachi talked of his time as a spy, meeting Madara -that made Deidara stop what he was doing and listen- and the order to… kill their clan. Itachi explained why he didn't kill Sasuke, a few times choking on his own words as he watched his precious little brother's expression change and the threat he gave Konoha should they harm Sasuke.

All the while, Sasuke didn't make a peep. There was distrust in the teen's eyes, but he remained quiet for whatever reason. Itachi always jumped to add in detail if he felt a question bubbling up. Finally, when Itachi was done, Sasuke spoke.

"I don't believe anything you said."

Itachi gave his brother a small smile, "I knew you would say that, but I spoke the truth. It is up to you if you believe it or not."

"And I don't," Sasuke said with a sharp glare. "All this time it turns out that you were some tragic hero? Stop lying."

"Kid, if your brother really wanted to kill you, he would have done so years ago, un!" Deidara snapped, chucking his processed clay onto the ground. "What part about him letting you live and then dying with a smile on his face during your guys' big fight translate to 'I am currently lying to you'?"

Sasuke went quiet.

"And you," Deidara pointed a finger at Itachi, "When were you going to tell me that I was partners with not only the leader of the fucking Akatsuki, but also was history's most famous Uchiha?!"

"I assumed you would figure it out yourself," Or die before it was revealed, but Itachi would rather not say that to someone who sees him as a friend.

"I figured out he was an Uchiha not long after my fight with Sasuke, that's why I arrived here solo. But Madara? Please, un." Deidara rolled his eyes, walking over to Sasuke and began to check his injuries. "If I hadn't shown up, he would have scooped up your brother and take your eyes with him and convince your brother to join the Akatsuki. Just need to spin a truthful tale to make him love you again but hate your village. If that wasn't the case then I'll make my next C2 look like Envy's true form."

Both Akatsuki members shivered.

Deidara locked eyes with Sasuke, "I'm going to untie you and you're free to leave if you want… but if you attack Itachi, I will not hesitate to reverse everything your brother has done to keep you alive, un."

"Deidara, please…" Itachi sighed out, "Don't."

Deidara clapped his hands and put his hands on the seals over Sasuke's bindings, shredding them into fibers. Besides loosening of limbs, Sasuke remained still even after Deidara returned to his clay. They sat there in silence for several minutes, the only sound came from the teen moving to regain the feeling of his limbs.

There were no attacks, no words spoken, just silence in a dark cave.

Until Sasuke spoke up again, "I'm going to Konoha to learn the truth, if I don't like what I found or I learn you were lying, I'm coming back to kill you."

Itachi only nodded. Sasuke got up and left the cave, not caring much about the pain he felt.

"Hate to kill the mood, but won't that make capturing the Kyuubi harder, un?"

Itachi didn't make any comments.

A few weeks later, Itachi found himself holding his brother in his arms as the teen swears he will kill Danzo for what he has done to the clan.

Obito's illusion of control was slowly breaking apart with Deidara loudly declaring to "Tobi" that he will only follow Konan's orders from now on and that "Tobi" can go jump off a cliff.

xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

 **Konan**

They won…

Who knew that those two words would come to pass, but as the last two Jinchuuriki's corpses slammed into the ground and the Gedo statue received its final eyes, everything fell into place.

It wasn't easy. Itachi, Kisame, and Deidara had to work together to capture the Hachibi -Deidara refused to let Madara near them- while she and Pein flattened Konoha in their hunt for the Kyuubi… no, Uzumaki Naruto. If they had the energy, Konan and Nagato would have debated for hours on who was harder to fight against: Naruto or Sasuke. But Sasuke vanished from the fight mere minutes after Pein began to fight Naruto after crows aggressively flew on the battlefield… perhaps that is the only saving grace they had in their victory.

They had won.

Words have never felt so sweet with relief and sour from the bile that built up in Konan's stomach.

A child was dead and his blood was on her hands. It was her alchemy that pinned the fox to the ground, her jutsu that bound him, her alchemy that trapped his allies so she could whisk him away.

"Itachi, let's make sure this thing doesn't wake up until we want it to, un!" Konan faintly heard Deidara's voice. Had her tunnel vision on the Uzumaki boy ended she would have seen the two boys clap their hands without transmutation circles and red sparks dancing along the now twitching statue, the very earth binding what is supposed to be the symbol of the Akatsuki's future.

Pein and two of his other bodies jump to Naruto's body and the Hachibi Jinchuuriki's body -she faintly remembers Kisame calling this man "Killer Bee"- and picking them up. The main body held Naruto while the other two carried Bee's, though less gracefully, and the group flicker away. Konan followed.

"Nagato?" Konan approached her dear friend, immediately taking out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from Nagato's lips. She watches the two bodies be laid before them and she freezes. The boy looked peaceful like he was just taking a nap… he couldn't be much older than Ed or Al, and the blond hair… the temper...

"Konan… what were alchemy's rules on bringing humans back from the dead?" Nagato asked weakly.

"The Elric brothers… lost a lot in an attempt to bring back their mother, but failed as they couldn't bring her soul back. Deidara succeeded because Itachi died from an illness, so his heart could be restarted," Konan answered automatically. "I'm not sure… with their souls being tied to the Bijuu…"

"And your stone?" Nagato lips twitched upward when Konan tensed up, "I knew that was more than a gift… you were never one to keep sentimental items… even then, you refused to look at it. Like the sight of it disgusted you."

"..." Konan reached up to the flower in her hair when a cold hand softly held her wrist. It was the main Pein body, Yahiko's body. "Nagato, what are you doing?"

"Take care of the Akatsuki for me," Nagato coughed up another spurt of blood, yanking his arms out of the machine that kept him mobile and alive. "I heard stories about Uzumaki Naruto… and I believe that he can help bring peace. I could only imagine what the world would look like if we had failed to capture him. Itachi's brother will also be here soon to collect them… It was Naruto for the village… provided I bring him back to life."

Nagato weaved his hand signs and summoned the King of Hell, tall and monstrous that unzipped its mouth and just… sat there. Nagato was in complete focus of his chakra, using the full extent of his chakra and his rinnegan to rip Naruto and Bee's souls away from where they may be resting. The three Pein bodies fall to the ground and Konan stood there.

Nagato's hair began to turn white and the King of Hell finally had two bright beams of blue light fly out of them, followed behind by hundreds of other lights that flew off into the distance. And still, Konan stood there, nothing she could do would make Nagato stop and at this point… he would never forgive her if she tried to use the stone on him. Something in her snapped, watching the last ray of light in her life grow dimmer and dimmer each passing second and there was nothing she could do about it… she was helpless.

Funny, things are becoming blurry, has it begun to rain…? Her eyes stung, but she didn't dare blink.

"You must live, Konan…"

Nagato's body slumped forward at the same time two pairs of lungs take in air. Konan went to her friend's body and hugged it close to her, trying to contain her emotions, trying to not make a sound as her vision became a blurred mess of simple colors. She could hear Naruto sit up, he was asking questions but should she really answer them? Did she have the strength to?

"We… won… Your friend will be…" Konan couldn't stop the small hiccup and she wanted to crawl somewhere to hide the shame. "You will be taken somewhere from us… we…" A shaky breath, "We will begin… negotiations soon."

"Wait… you guys...? How am I alive?" She heard Naruto ask, more to himself than towards her.

"Nagato…" And then there was silence for a minute. But only for a minute. A wall explodes and Konan uses her paper to cloak her, Nagato, and Yahiko from harm and multiple feet storm in the area. Konan never removed herself from her friend as there was shouting. Someone got cut because they tried to get to her, get to Nagato and Yahiko.

"The deal was that you would leave with Naruto and Bee and leave without harming Konan, Sasuke," Itachi said after suddenly appearing and yanking Haruno Sakura away from Konan's paper wall. "You have five minutes to leave before my genjutsu on the others fade. I will not stop Deidara if he decides to attack."

"Sasuke-kun, we can't let them get away with this! They took him!" Konan heard a girl's voice shout, but she didn't dare part the paper to watch.

"Sakura… please," Sasuke's voice was next. "Help Kakashi with Killer Bee, the Raikage will want him returned to Kumo safely."

"Sasuke-kun… but-" Sakura let out a sigh. "Fine…"

Konan remained still as the chakra from the intruders fade along with the chakra of the two former Jinchuuriki. The paper wall parted and returned to her body. A gentle hand rubbed soothing circles on her back while a sob finally broke out. This was too much, she lost too much, why did this have to take her last friend from her? Why… why did Madara have to want the Bijuu?

Konan let out a long, shaky breath and released her hold of Nagato's body. Itachi stepped back and watched as she wrapped the bodies of her two friends in paper coffins. "Burn the other bodies, leave nothing behind, especially the rinnegan. I'm taking Nagato and Yahiko back to Amegakure so that they may rest…"

"Konan?" Itachi spoke up, preparing the hand signs to burn the other bodies.

"I have control of when the Gedo statue can be summoned and Nagato made me in charge of the Akatsuki…" She breathed again, lifting the two bodies into the air and sprouted her paper angel wings. Clasping her hands together in a jutsu, she unsummoned the Gedo statue that still sat in the dark cave. "Rather I am in charge of the dream of the Akatsuki, I'm cutting ties with Madara."

"He won't like that," Itachi commented but making no moves to stop her.

"No, he won't." Spreading out her wings, Konan flew off in a flurry of papers, carefully carrying the two most important people in her life and ready to defend their final resting place with her life.

xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

Movements from the Akatsuki came to a screeching halt for a time and tension from the Five Great Nations was at an all-time high, waiting anxiously for the supposed negotiations that were to come their way. Messenger hawks to Ame would return without replies or even read letters. Some villages tried to send shinobi, but there were no reports of their return. The only exception was when Konoha sent Sasuke in hopes that the Uchiha would be able to coax, at the very least, Itachi out of hiding.

Sasuke was returned by a familiar white bird, bandages covering his eyes but relatively unharmed.

"Itachi and I swapped eyes…"

That was the only information Konoha received and was the last thing on the minds of the other four Hidden Villages.

However, in Ame, things were not as quiet as the rest of the world was led to believe.

Konan flew through the air, mercilessly sending wave after wave of paper shuriken at "Madara" -she doubts that was ever his name in the first place- while keeping her distance from him. She was no longer needed for his plan, and right now she was the only thing between him and the ultimate beast, the Juubi which remained trapped in a prison of genjutsu and alchemy in the void that held it prisoner until it was to be summoned.

"This will only end in your death," Obito reasoned with Konan, dodging another shuriken aimed for a vital spot. "I gave Nagato the rinnegan and I will take back what is mine to finish the Tsuki No Me project."

"Nagato entrusted the Akatsuki to me!" Konan stretched her arms out to the side. "I will never let you have his eyes or the Juubi, not as long as I am alive!"

And then she clapped.

Obito barely had a second to activate kamui before hoards of metallic spikes shot out from the water aimed towards him like a hoard of serpents all pouncing on the same prey. The Uchiha cursed inwardly, damn this woman for learning a technique he didn't know! He stood atop spike-free water when he noticed one tiny detail about this alchemy… it had red sparks instead of the blue that always happened when Deidara used alchemy.

Always blue… until Deidara used a red stone Itachi had on his necklace.

Red stone…

Obito locked his sharingan on the red stone in Konan's hair flower.

Using kamui, he predicted where Konan would fly next and teleported in front of her. The woman attempted to fly back but was held steadfast by Obito's grasp around her fragile neck. He only needed to extract the information from her in a genjutsu, plain and simple...

Of course, plans were simpler when a certain blond bomber wasn't sending a clay butterfly the side of ten Kisames directly at you. Instincts only saved Obito by throwing Konan away and barely escaping the blast with a singed Akatsuki cloak.

"Why did people even for a second believe you were Madara, un?" Deidara shouted down from his clay hawk, grinning madly at his former partner as he dropped several more c1s just in the off chance Obito had not realized he was there. "You're too much of a dumbass to be him and your abilities are too much like Hatake Kakashi!"

"Hn," That voice came from right behind Obito.

He didn't have enough time to dodge the kunai that was now lodged between two of his ribs from behind. Obito swung around, sending a powerful kick to Itachi who burst into a flurry of crows. Now the older Uchiha was on the defensive, focusing most of his energy in avoiding the three sets of jutsu while charging his kamui for another attack… if he could just get rid of Deidara at the very least he wouldn't have to worry about the bombs.

But better said than done when every time he heard a clap, something new was trying to kill him.

Itachi's eyes swirled to a pattern that Obito had never seen before. A solid red pupil with three black, wavy lines stretching out, each connected to the left by a crescent slope and tied with a black circle in the middle of the eye. Itachi was launched into the air so that he may be covered in a solid orange tengu samurai, wielding a sword almost half the size of its body, a perfect Susano-o that protected its master with pure chakra.

Itachi clapped, a sound that echoed among the destroyed metallic spikes, the grey sky, and vibrated the very rain itself. Itachi clapped, and from the red sparks, black flames danced across the Susano-o like the gentle caress of a warm embrace.

Itachi had clapped, and Obito was facing death incarnate.

xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

Deidara was given the privilege to remove the mask and was immediately disappointed. "Well, he's just some guy, un." He backed away from the body and crossed his arms, one hand still holding the damaged mask.

"I know who he is," Itachi said, kneeling down next to Obito's body and began to pluck out the still activated sharingan, paying no attention to the sounds of gagging behind him. "His name is Obito, he was reported dead during the Third Great Shinobi War and was a teammate of Kakashi. Everyone in the clan knew about him because he had given Kakashi one of his eyes."

"Lucky for us that Uchihas apparently don't age, un…" Deidara muttered, letting out another gag when Itachi plucked out the other sharingan. "Gross… if he gave up an eye, why does he have two now?"

"Harvested from clan members he killed when he helped me with the massacre." Itachi pulled out two capsules filled with a solution and put one eye in each capsule. "I'll have to find where he stored the rest, my clansmen deserve to have their eyes returned to their resting place…"

"We will do what we can to help with that search…" Konan took the mask from Deidara and the capsule containing Obito's eye. She had the two items tenderly wrapped in a box made of her paper and held the box with delicacy. "I believe it's time for us to summon the Five Kages… I know what needs to be done with the Juubi. Make sure Obito receives a proper funeral, bad deeds or not, his soul has no reason to be trapped in this world."

Obito's body was set ablaze in the black flames of Amaterasu.

"Itachi, Deidara, swear this to me," Konan stood straight and the two were brought to attention, just like they would in Amestris. "You two are the last that know how to use alchemy along with me. Zetsu is to be hunted and killed as an accomplice of Obito and Kisame's fate is determined by Itachi, his living partner. I want you both to swear to me that…"

She looks down at the box and takes a breath.

"If one day I become like this man… or… if I become a monster like Bradley… I want you two to kill me without mercy or hesitation. Swear to me that neither of you will allow yourselves to die like Sasori or Hidan, and prevent this world from creating a monster like the monsters we had seen."

"Understood…" Itachi answered.

"I don't like it, using my art on you, but if you insist…" Deidara nodded but quickly looked away. "So are we the good guys or the bad guys, un?"

Konan's body began to split apart into origami butterflies, the sky going blue and the rain ceasing its constant fall. "That is a matter of perspective."

xxxxx00000xxxxx00000

The Five Kage Summit in the Land of Iron was cold, with snow that reached the shins of non-shinobi and frostbite threatened those of poor chakra control. In the safety of the summit building, the Kages and their guards waited anxiously for the Akatsuki's arrival. Well… the Raikage anxious but…

"When are they going to be here?" A shouted out annoyed, slamming his fist on the table.

"Soon, be patient…" Gaara kept his eyes closed, trying to ignore A's frustration. "Being upset with them is not going to make our situation any easier… they have all of the Bijuu."

"Yes…" A voice rasped out, "It was rather annoying capturing the remaining two."

The Kage's guards appeared in defensive positions, except for Tsunade's as Kakashi and Shizune remained in the back.

Kisame entered the building and brushed the snow from his body. "There's no need to respond like that, Konan and the other two are entering shortly, I'm here making sure things are safe." He gives the group a toothy grin and a soft laugh. "I'm looking forward to working with all of you instead of fighting against you."

Tsunade paused, blinking several times. "Likewise…" She relaxed in her chair and the other Kage's guards return to the shadows. "What took the Akatsuki so long to finally contact us?"

Kisame waved a hand dismissively, "Something about trying to figure out how to control the Juubi… oh, I have a present from Konan for Hatake Kakashi." He reached into his cloak and pulled out the paper box. Slowly, like he wasn't sure who would attack him, he approached Tsunade and stopped a good five feet from her, the tension thick in the air. He carefully put the box down and slid it over to the Hokage then backed away. "Turns out the person calling himself Uchiha Madara was… well, lying. He also had a history with Kakashi."

Tsunade didn't touch the box but nodded and Kakashi appeared. He picked up the box and peeked inside and just... froze. The jonin let out a long, slow breath and closed the box, nodding to himself but his head never fully went back up. He flickered back with the others without a word.

Kisame looked to the entrance of the building and the rest followed suit. Konan walked inside, wearing the Akatsuki's straw hat so that the white tassels covered her face. Flanking behind her are Itachi on her left and Deidara on her right, only the blond was smiling from the three of them, specifically at the Tsuchikage, Onoki.

"Deidara… seems you're still alive," Onoki commented, trying to keep his tone neutral.

"Have to keep a promise I made after all, un." Deidara motions his head towards Konan.

Konan says nothing and walks towards the empty seat where Kisame now stood, waiting for her. The Kages go silent as they observe the woman. Head bowed down but body straight as a finely crafted arrow. Each step was confident, powerful, like a trained soldier readying for war yet held the grace of a dancer. Tsunade and Gaara were the first to look at the more visible parts of her body, the unusual boots that covered her entire feet and hit the floor with heavy clunks and the whiteness of her hands that made her orange nails shine even brighter. No one could truly figure out why the Akatsuki painted their nails.

The pale tone of her skin stuck with Tsunade. She remembered Konan, if only barely, and the child had a healthy complexion with reports that she still kept that look even as an adult… but now her skin… dare she say it rivaled Orochimaru in paleness.

What exactly happened to the child that tried to give her and her teammates an origami flower?

Konan sat in her seat, resting one hand in her lap and the other reaching for her hat. "I must apologize for the delay, but we had to figure out how to control the Juubi without it going on a rampage. The Akatsuki were lead astray in our original goals for peace… and as a result of taking the other Bijuu, we inadvertently created a mindless monster. It had to be controlled."

She took off her hat and set it on the table in front of her. WIth Konan's face finally reaching light many bloods in the room ran cold.

"The control isn't perfect, I was hoping to work with the Hokage in performing an eye transplant… as no one in the Akatsuki is skilled in medical ninjutsu, but I am making do with what I was given."

Konan's amber eyes bore into the souls of the Kages, but that was the only part about her that remained the same. Her skin had turned white like the paper she so loved, her hair once blue also lost all color but remained tied in the way she was most comfortable in. Horns, possible the length of her ring finger but the width of half of her hand at the base protruded from her hairline, curving towards the back of her head. Her Akatsuki cloak, partially open at the top and visible, exposed a white robe lined with black tomoes, neatly folded and preserved her modesty.

At the top of Konan's Sternum was the Philosopher's Stone embedded into her skin, a physical reminder of her power. None of the Kages understood what the stone was, but Konan clapped her hands and rested them on the table. The stone sparked red, as did the table and it crumbled and fell to the ground, leaving spring grass that shined impossibly bright for the harsh winters of this country. The stone sparked again and the grass dissolved away and the tabled returned.

There was no genjutsu, no ninjutsu, nothing.

"I have much to talk about and what I showed you is one of them… this stone…" Konan rested her right pointer and middle finger over the cursed object. "Is how I am controlling the Juubi… the Akatsuki allowed a monster to return and as the current leader, I am paying the price for our actions. War has tone apart this land, orphaned children, taken the lives of innocents, all for the sake of power and control… the Akatsuki now hold that power… and in the names of the friends I lost in hopes of achieving peace… I want to work with the Five Great Nations to end all war."

Itachi and Deidara both let out long exhales then exchanged nods. They walk to the pillars that cover the Kage's guards with curtains. Deidara began to draw a transmutation circle while Itachi simply clapped his hands. Blue and red sparks danced around the pillars, merging together into a royal purple and effortlessly shredding the curtains into small piles of fiber. With everyone now exposed to the open, Konan finally smiled. Not a harsh smile. Not the smile of someone who knows they've just won a game that was thought unwinnable.

No, it was just the smile of someone who was finally at peace with themselves.

"Shall we begin?"

* * *

 **I wanted to leave the ending vague. There really is no "good ending" or "bad ending" because it is a matter of perspective, the Akatsuki are in control but at what cost would it be? That is the ugliness of war, even the victors claim their prize feeling hollow and lost.**

 **I originally was going to have this be a short epilogue, a little "here is a summary of what happened afterwards" but as I was writing, I just wanted to add more. More detail, more story. Just something to show how much impact alchemy and the FMAB world had on these five people. In the end, this is a product I am happy with.**

 **This story is now up for adoption. My only request is that what I have here remains the same and that the person that may be adopting the story lets me know when they begin to post new chapters so that I can watch them do their work.**

 **If I decide to continue the story in my own words, I will post an announcement here. The continuation will be on AO3 (see announcement chapter for reason why).**

 **Thank you guys for following this story and supporting it even as my love for the story was slowly dying chapter by chapter. It was humbling to write this and see how many people loved it and again, I truly am sorry I was unable to give you a finished product. At the very least I hope the two-parter epilogue gave you readers some closure on the story.**

 **Thank you again :)**


End file.
